European defence ministers have acted on recommendations made by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe in its STAR 21 report and aerospace industry associations by making concrete proposals regarding research and procurement. They will be submitted to European Union heads of state and government either at their Brussels summit this month or at the Greek presidency's final summit in Thessaloniki on 20 June.
Ministers agreed at a meeting in Athens between 14-15 March that defence-related research and development funds should be excluded from the stability pact which ensures that each of the 12 nations now using the euro as national currency maintain inflation and deficits within certain limits.
This, says Greek defence minister Yannos Papantoniou, "will make it possible to engage in research that is fundamentally important to European defence and security and also to earmark funds for a common market on defence".
Ministers adopted an idea put forward by aerospace industry leaders over the past year or so, most recently by Philippe Camus, co-chairman of EADS and president of GIFAS, the French aerospace industry association, that a European defence procurement agency should be created. EU leaders will also discuss this issue at one of the Greek presidency summit meetings.
Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for security and defence, says the creation of a procurement agency is vital because "upgrading capabilities will be a continuous process", and "the more we can do in a co-ordinated fashion, the better for the European Union".
A pan-European conference will take place in early May in Athens to review the project groups' recommendations, industrial strategies, and examine ways of further restructuring Europe's defence industry and thus increase its competitiveness on a global scale.
Source: Flight International