Europe's defence ministers issued their limited vision for their new joint procurement agency late last week, despite warnings from industry over creating a toothless body.
The European Council, comprising defence ministers from European Union members, adopted a joint action to establish the European Defence Agency (EDA), marking the formal creation of the body. Ministers brokered a last-minute compromise deal last month in Luxembourg, which was almost derailed by a Portuguese objection to large nations such as France, Germany and the UK establishing exclusive arms projects.
A last-minute change in wording allowed the agency's framework to be adopted, but Europe's three largest defence contractors issued a statement warning against a weak agency. The chief executives of BAE Systems, EADS and Thales together said there is a risk that the EDA will become a "fig leaf to cover the nakedness of any real efforts to improve European defence".
France has tried to create a true joint procurement agency, designed to steer grand projects and maximise industrial co-operation, in a bid to grow Europe's defence self-sufficiency, while other nations argued for national vetoes.
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
Source: Flight International