The WEU Assembly has called on the European Defence Agency (EDA) to make the European naval defence industry a priority and for EU governments to foster consolidation among manufacturers as an essential condition for  the success of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
 
Presenting a report, entitled “The Future of the European Naval Defence Industry”, which was adopted unanimously, Elvira Cortajarena Iturrioz (Spain/Socialist Group) said the EDA "has the wherewithal" to promote the restructuring and reorganisation of the sector in order to bolster its competitiveness, but that this outcome could only be achieved if governments supported the move with "real political will." This meant providing the legal framework for companies to merge, harmonising legal standards and regulations, standardising procurement systems and converging defence budgets. Cooperation "is not very impressive so far," she lamented.
 
But the report from the Technological and Aerospace Committee recognised that the EU had to overcome obstacles that the United States had not faced. "We are hampered by different cultures and a much more complicated industry", Mrs Iturrioz said. "Some companies are state-owned, some are private and others are mixed." The report added that "it cannot be stressed too much that without European programmes, the task of creating one, two or three major European naval groups would be impossible, and for that to happen countries must agree on their equipment needs – and on a common schedule for like missions".
 
In its recommendation, the Assembly urged WEU member states as EU members to "become involved immediately, in cooperation with the industry and the EU, in a European naval defence industry project for the future on which both the latter's survival and the success of the European Security and Defence Policy will depend". They should also "resolve difficulties over funding naval defence programmes," and encourage "operational convergence, procurement synchronisation and harmonisation of budgets, harmonisation of rules and opportunities for technology transfer, and agreements for developing and implementing European programmes".
 
The report also analyses the current position of the naval industries of the five leading European players – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.