Paris, 3 December 2009 – The Assembly has issued a strong call for the European Union to boost defence industry cooperation in order to stamp out duplication and waste and enhance equipment interoperability.

Action is particularly urgent in the light of new demands on military resources and budget cuts, Mr Edward O’Hara (United Kingdom, Socialist Group) said on Wednesday. Presenting a report entitled “Strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) – reply to the annual report of the Council” (Document 2048) on behalf of the Technological and Aerospace Committee, he said that there was “a serious underlying issue here, which affects the safety of our troops, who cannot do their job without the proper equipment”.

Without a strong EDTIB, an “autonomous European defence capability is not a realistic possibility,” he declared. Although “big and important”, the EDTIB was excluded from the major treaties on European economic and political cooperation and was growing and developing through voluntary, ad hoc cooperative initiatives, he added.

Fellow Rapporteur Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (United Kingdom, Socialist Group) stressed that central procurement should be promoted for key defence items. She acknowledged that this could be a “bit tricky” for countries with a defence industry, but that common research and development (R&D) was the starting point. The European Defence Agency (EDA) could play the leading role in this field.

The recommendations adopted unanimously by the Assembly included pursuing efforts within the EDA to identify and define common needs, more defence spending and investment in joint equipment and technology programmes, compliance with European Commission directives on procurement, offsets and technology transfers, maintained – if not increased – budgets, and more R&D incentives.

The report notes the EDA’s limited financial resources and the fact that with a budget of 30 million euros for 2009 they are smaller than those of the poorest member states, Assembly President Robert Walter MP (United Kingdom, Federated Group) said in his opening address on Tuesday. Moreover, the Agency’s codes on procurement, offsets and best practice in the supply chain are only voluntary, Mr O’Hara noted.