By Aimee Turner in Brussels
Europe’s bid to boost defence equipment procurement across member states will not lead to the development of “Fortress Europe”, insists the chief executive of the fledgling European Defence Agency (EDA).
The move to open up Europe’s €30 billion ($38 billion) defence procurement market was launched last week in Brussels with the posting of €500 million worth of contracts on the internet, and the adoption of a new, voluntary regime to be overseen by the agency and based on an agreed code of conduct. This covers defence equipment spending that the 22 of the 24 EDA member states decide to exempt from European Union public procurement rules under Article 296 of the EC Treaty and that therefore do not involve cross-border competition. “The code of conduct on defence procurement both in principle and the way it operates will be completely neutral as regards suppliers outside the 22 member states. It sets out how they will treat suppliers with an accompanying commitment to treat fairly all bids from other territories with proper care and consideration,” says EDA chief executive Nick Witney.
In its first week, 12 contracts were posted up for tender totalling €500 million, including a €420 million Finnish air defence system.
Witney says the EDA will publish a progress report later this year and within the next year will have gathered enough data to get a clearer idea on defence procurement budgets in Europe. “This will enable us to build a picture of the proportion of European defence procurement demand and where that demand is being satisfied, both within and outside Europe,” says Witney.
Source: Flight International