9 European Defence Agency activity in
2009
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| Head of the European Defence Agency's Report to the Council
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| Legal base | — |
| Deposited in Parliament | 22 May 2009
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| Department | Defence |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 8 June 2009
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (30175) —: (30176) 15442/08: and (30212) — HC 19-ii (2008-09), chapter 10 (17 December 2008)
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| Discussed in Council | 18 May 2009 General Affairs and External Relations Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
9.1 The European Defence Agency was established under 2004/551/CFSP
on 12 July 2004, "to support the Member States and the Council
in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the
field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security
and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future".
FUNCTIONS AND TASKS
9.2 It has four functions, covering:
— developing
defence capabilities;
— promoting Defence Research and Technology
(R&T);
— promoting armaments cooperation;
— creating a competitive European Defence
Equipment Market and strengthening the European Defence, Technological
and Industrial Base.
9.3 According to its website, these functions all
relate to improving Europe's defence performance, by promoting
coherence: "a more integrated approach to capability development
will contribute to better-defined future requirements on which
collaborations — in armaments or R&T or the operational
domain — can be built. More collaboration will, in turn,
provide opportunities for industrial restructuring and progress
towards the continental-scale demand and market, which industry
needs."
9.4 On this basis, the Agency's tasks include:
— to
work for a more comprehensive and systematic approach to defining
and meeting the capability needs of the European Security and
Defence Policy (ESDP);
— to promote European defence-relevant
R&T, as vital both to a healthy defence technological and
industrial base and to defining and satisfying future capability
requirements. This will involve pursuing collaborative use of
national defence R&T funds, in the context of a European Defence
R&T Strategy which identifies priorities;
— to promote European cooperation on defence
equipment, both to contribute to defence capabilities and as a
catalyst for further restructuring the European defence industry;
— to work, in close cooperation with the
Commission, on steps towards an internationally competitive market
for defence equipment in Europe.
9.5 The EDA says that its "comparative advantage"
should be "its ability to comprehend all these agendas, and
relate them so as to realise their synergies. Its special position
should allow it to develop uniquely cogent analyses and proposals
across the range of its activities."
STRUCTURE
9.6 The EDA is an Agency of the European Union. The
EU High Representative, Javier Solana, is Head of the Agency and
Chairman of the Steering Board, its decision-making body, which
is composed of Defence Ministers of the 26 participating Member
States (all EU Member States, except Denmark) and the European
Commission. In addition, the Steering Board meets regularly at
sub-ministerial levels, such as National Armaments Directors or
Capability Directors.
9.7 The Steering Board acts under the Council's Authority
and within the framework of guidelines issued by the Council,
and meets twice yearly — in May and November.
WAY OF WORKING
9.8 The EDA's website explains:
"the Agency faces outwards. Its main "shareholders"
are the Member States participating in the Agency; key stakeholders
include the Council and the Commission as well as third parties
such as OCCAR (fr. Organisation Conjointe de Coopération
en matière d'ARmement),[33]
LoI (Letter of Intent) and NATO. The Agency has a special relationship
with Norway (through an "Administrative Arrangement")."[34]
9.9 The Committee and its predecessor were fully
engaged in the development of the EDA, culminating in a debate
in June 2004 in European Scrutiny Committee B.[35]
There, the then Secretary of State stated that its principal purpose
would be to improve Member States' military capabilities. Unanimity
is required for decisions on role, goals and targets; QMV for
internal operations. It came into being in 2005.
9.10 The Government agreed that it would deposit
the Agency reports to the Council referred to in Article 4 of
the EDA Joint Action — its May report on activities during
the previous and current year and its November report on current
year activity and "draft elements" of the work programme
and budgets for the following year — and the Council's annual
guidelines to the Agency that set the framework for its work programme.
Also, initiated by the then Secretary of State (Dr John Reid),
the Secretary of State writes before and after EDA Steering Board
meetings (not only to this Committee but also to the Defence Select
Committee). We have thus been kept well-informed of developments
during the EDA's formative years.
9.11 At our meeting on 6 February 2008, we considered
the report of November 2007 on that year's activity and the following
years' budgets and the Council's guidelines to the Agency that
set the framework for its 2008 work programme, along with a Joint
Action that embodied the outcome of the first review required
by the original Joint Action (carried out by the Head, 3 years
after adoption of the Joint Action; proposing no major changes
and amendment to authorise two Deputy Chief Executives instead
of one — one
strategic, one operational; agreed in principle by the steering
board, and in the 2008 budget — and a further review in
2010).
9.12 We also considered a Commission Communication
(and related draft legislation) on defence procurement, which
we recommended for debate in European Committee B. With the EDA
entering the next stage of its development, and clear indications
that, particularly during the French presidency of the European
Union in the second half of this year, the future of European
Security and Defence Policy would be put under the microscope,
we also recommended that the Head of the Agency's Report and the
guidelines for 2008 be debated at the same time, to enable the
House to consider the wider framework, and how the EDA might best
contribute.[36] That
debate took place on 10 March 2008.[37]
9.13 Our most recent Report dealt with:
— the
Head of the Agency's Report on activities in 2008;
— guidelines for assessing the report and
recommendations about the direction of the EDA in 2009
— the Agency's budget for 2009
9.14 They concentrated on the EDA's strategic framework
— the Capability Development Plan — and the three
endorsed strategies — the European Defence Technological
Industrial Base Strategy, the European Defence R&T strategy
and the Armaments strategy — all of whose main features
in 2008 were covered in the Head of the Agency's Report. They
were well explained and commented upon by the Minister for International
Defence and Security (Baroness Ann Taylor) in three separate Explanatory
Memorandums, the last of which contained what little information
there was on the 2009 budget. Although no official text was available
(it being in French), the Minister noted that, once again, only
an annual budget had been set and that, at €30 million, it
was both 25% less than proposed and €2 million less than
funds available for 2008.
9.15 The Committee noted that the Government continued
successfully to pursue its pragmatic approach of broad, active
participation, "ranging from maintaining a watching brief
of progress to active participation where the projects align with
our own UK objectives", of maintaining budgetary discipline
and of encouraging the Agency to focus on where it can best add
value. The Government had been heavily involved in the CDP and
the three main strategies, and the Minister explained why it participated
in some programmes (e.g. the creation of an EU-wide forum for
Military Airworthiness Authorities, the aim of which was "a
joined up approach in respect of common Airworthiness regulations,
processes and procedures such that for future collaborative programmes
there will be a much reduced cost and time for industry in undertaking
development, certification and preservation of airworthiness than
has been the case hitherto, when trying to satisfy multiple AW
Authorities' different requirements"; this was "a UK
inspired EDA project in which we will continue to take a leading
role") and not in others (e.g., the first Joint Investment
Programme on Force Protection due to duplication with ongoing
national work and a planned second Joint Investment Programme
on Innovative Concepts and Emerging Technologies "as experts
don't judge this subject a priority for UK defence research funding").[38]
9.16 As on previous occasions, the Committee reported
these developments to the House because of the widespread interest
in the development of a European defence industry and strategy
and in ESDP generally, and also drew it to the attention of the
Defence Select Committee.
Recent Ministerial Correspondence
9.17 In the most recent correspondence, before and
after the 18 May 2009 EDA Steering Board Meeting, the agenda item
that the Minister highlighted was a prospective 3-Year Financial
Framework (2010-2012). Against a background of difficulties
hitherto among Member States in agreeing a three year financial
framework, leaving annual budgets to be agreed each year —
last November, the Board agreed a one year budget for 2009 of
€30 million — the Minister said that the Agency had
now produced an adequate three year work programme, and a proposal
for an amendment to the Joint Action to allow the three year financial
framework to be set every year on a rolling basis; though all
Member States that spoke endorsed the approach in the paper, many
also noted that in the current circumstances the Agency needed
to exercise financial restraint. The Minister herself said that
the EDA could not be exempt from belt-tightening and should not
assume that more resources would be available next year than this.
Several other Member States argued for financial restraint, others
argued that the EDA needed appropriate levels of resources, some
insisting that the budget could not be reduced, but only one argued
explicitly for an increase. The Chairman of the Steering Board
suggested coming back to the subject at an additional board meeting,
potentially to be held at the Swedish Defence Ministers' informal
in September.
9.18 The Minister also reported briefly on various
projects, the most notable of which are also dealt with below.
The Head of the Agency's Report on key activities
in 2009
9.19 As before, the report highlights progress made
on the Agency's major initiatives, provides details on the implementation
of existing policies and developing policy/conceptual work and
provides information of specific projects.
9.20 The Head of Agency notes that the EDA has been
focussing on the practical implementation of its strategies and
policies — "addressing challenging work strands on
capabilities, Research and Technology, Armaments Industry and
Market issues". He says that "Good progress has been
made across a range of cooperative projects in priority areas
— including helicopters' availability, airlift, logistics,
protection against biological threats, space, and maritime surveillance".
9.21 The commendably brief and clear report then
examines current and prospective projects, including the implementation
of the long term strategies such as the Capability Development
Plan, the European Defence R&T Strategy the European Defence
Technological Industrial Base and the European Armaments Cooperation
(EAC) strategy. The report also provides details of specific projects
like the Agency's work on helicopter availability, the European
Air Transport Fleet Initiative, MUSIS and the two R&T
Joint Investment Programmes on Force Protection and on Innovative
Concept and Emerging Technologies (ICET, and information on
how the EDA has been enhancing contacts with key stakeholders
such as the European Commission, OCCAR and NATO. All in all, the
Head of Agency says, the Agency's "added value is demonstrated
with the existing cooperative projects/programmes being implemented
and new initiatives being generated and launched."
The Government's view
9.22 In her Explanatory Memorandum of 8 June 2009,
the Minister for International
Defence and Security (Baroness
Taylor) says that no new
policy implications arise from this report., and that "the
UK will continue to engage positively with the EDA to ensure that
it is an effective tool in helping to improve military capability
in Europe." She
comments as follows on :
STRATEGIES
Capability Development Plan (CDP)
"The Capability Development Plan (CDP) is designed
to allow the EDA to set a long term vision for European defence
capability and capacity needs, thereby informing decisions on
industrial, technological and investment issues. It is providing
a valuable tool for Member States, stimulating greater efficiency
and identifying more cooperative opportunities by defining future
requirements in a coherent, transparent and collective way. Of
the twelve CDP selected priority areas, nine have been taken forward
by the Agency together with the Member States. The Agency, together
with relevant EU actors will continue to assist Member States
by providing collective priorities for future capability development.
The UK strongly supports this work.
European Defence Research and Technology Strategy
"The European Defence Research & Technology
Strategy, like the UK Defence Technology Strategy aims to identify
key technologies that will need to be developed or maintained
within Europe. The UK has taken a leading role in this work, alongside
several European partners. Work has been undertaken on implementing
the strategy and the UK will continue to work closely with the
EDA as this strategy is further embedded.
European Defence Technological and Industrial
Base (EDITB)
"Work on the European Defence Technological
and Industrial Base (EDTIB) aims to strengthen the EDTIB, by making
it more responsive and effective. Progress has been maintained
by the Agency, for example work on identifying key industrial
capabilities to be preserved or developed in Europe has been tested
in the area of Future Air Systems. The UK fully supports this
progress and efforts to create a European Defence Equipment Market.
European Armaments Cooperation (EAC) Strategy
"This strategy is still in early production
however work has progressed in areas such as education, best practice
and standardisation. A number of EDA projects are foreseen as
test cases for the application of the Strategy's Guide on how
to conduct programme preparation phases. The UK is actively engaged
and will work with the Agency over the coming months on the production
of this strategy.
MAJOR INITIATIVES
Helicopter Availability
"The UK strongly supports any initiative that
improves the availability of helicopters for operations. The UK
fully supports the work the EDA has done on helicopter training;
we have seconded a national expert to the Agency to assist them
on this programme. Work has progressed on launching a helicopter
tactics programme in 2010 which aims to dull the gap between competent
crew and the high end skills needed to deploy on demanding operations.
The EDA will present Member States with concrete proposals on
this in [the] autumn. The Agency has also been looking at potential
upgrade programmes for specific helicopter types (initially MI,
the PUMA in due course) with the intention to generate opportunities
for collaborations. The UK supports this initiative and has asked
the Agency to keep in close touch with NATO to ensure there is
no duplication of the work NATO is conducting on helicopter upgrades.
An ad-hoc Category B Project on the "Future Transport Helicopter"
has been established, the UK does not plan to participate in this
due to our current helicopter arrangements.
European Air Transport Fleet
"The EDA has maintained momentum on the work
to establish a European Air Transport Fleet, a key pooling initiative
which has been widened from a programme based around a fleet of
A400M into a framework for different types of air transport assets.
The UK decided not to participate in the original EATF A400M Programme
as it was concluded that it would restrict the way we operate
our mixed strategic transport fleet. However we will now review
our position in light of the broadening of scope.
Network Enabled Capabilities (NEC)
"The EDA has adopted a structured approach to
Network Enabled Capabilities (NEC) focusing on the technology,
people and information domains with an emphasis on governance.
NEC is actively supported by the UK and we are comfortable with
the proposals outlined by the Agency to take this forward. We
encourage the Agency to maintain close cooperation with NATO and
other EU actors engaged in NEC in order to ensure coherence and
avoid duplication.
Multinational Space-Based Imaging System (MUSIS)
and Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
"The EDA Category B Project Multinational Space-Based
Imaging System (MUSIS) aims to develop the second generation of
military earth observation satellites, replacing current capabilities
in the 2015-2017 timeframe. The UK does not currently participate
in this but will continue to monitor the programme to identify
potential opportunities for collaboration. Space Situational Awareness
(SSA) is a civil European space programme led by the European
Space Agency (ESA). Its purpose is to track debris and mitigate
against the effects of space weather, to avoid collisions and
damage to member states' satellites. The EDA established a Category
B Project in 2009 to determine any defence-specific requirements
for SSA. The UK does not participate in this; we recognise that
there are data security and governance concerns but believe these
could be dealt with in the civil ESA programme. We will continue
to observe developments within the EDA Project Team.
Maritime Surveillance
"The UK supports the EDA work on Maritime Surveillance
and we are pleased to see that the Common Staff Requirement clearly
articulates the focus on support to ESDP operations, while recognising
potential civilian applications. We encourage the need for close
cooperation within the EU, especially the Commission, and other
actors engaged in Maritime Surveillance such as NATO in order
to avoid duplication."
Joint Investment Programmes (JIP) on Force Protection
and ICET
"Joint Investment Programmes are an EDA tool
for undertaking collaborative research programmes. This EDA JIP
on Force Protection was designed to enable EDA Member States to
progress research into force protection over three years. The
UK decided not to participate due to the overlap with ongoing
national activity. The UK does not participate in the second EDA
JIP on ICET as this is not of high enough priority for us to warrant
participation.
Other Programmes Mentioned
"The UK participates in many of the EDA's programmes
to varying degrees, ranging from maintaining a watching brief
of progress to active participation where the projects align with
our own UK objectives."
EDA Relationships with key stakeholders
"The EDA has been enhancing contacts with key
stakeholders (including the European Commission, OCCAR, and NATO)
when and where appropriate. The UK fully supports better cooperation
between the EDA and its key stakeholders."
9.23 Finally, the Minister notes that this report
was submitted to the 18 May 2009 General Affairs & External
Relations Council and that the next report to the Council will
be in November 2009 detailing the Agency's activities undertaken
in 2009.
Conclusion
9.24 The Government continues to pursue a pragmatic
approach, again describing it as "ranging from maintaining
a watching brief of progress to active participation where the
projects align with our own UK objectives".
9.25 It is for others to judge the rightness of
this approach. That said, now that the Agency is approaching its
fifth anniversary, we might have expected the Minister to have
said somewhat more on how the Agency's overall activities are
now working out in relation to its goals, and in particular how
its relationships are developing in practice with other interested
parties so that duplication really is avoided and real value is
added. It is perhaps too soon to seek to reach any firm conclusions,
but equally premature (as well as being a somewhat limited yardstick)
for the Head of Agency to be opining that the Agency's "added
value is demonstrated with the existing cooperative projects/programmes
being implemented and new initiatives being generated and launched."
We accordingly hope that, when she presents the next Head of Agency
Report, she might stand back a little from the canvas and let
us have her considered views on these wider issues.
9.26 We again report these developments to the
House because of the widespread interest in the development of
a European defence industry and strategy, and as before draw this
chapter of our Report to the attention of the Defence Committee.
9.27 On this occasion, now that the Agency has
begun to get into its stride, we are also drawing this chapter
of our Report to the attention of the Public Accounts Committee,
so that they may be aware of the state of play.
33 The Organisation Conjointe de Coopération
en matière d'ARmement was established by an Administrative
Arrangement on 12th November 1996 by the Defence Ministers of
France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Its aim is to provide more
effective and efficient arrangements for the management of certain
existing and future collaborative armament programmes. The four
founding Nations went on to sign a Treaty, the "OCCAR Convention",
which came into force on the 28th January 2001. Belgium and Spain
joined OCCAR in 2003 and 2005 respectively. The Netherlands, Luxembourg
and Turkey are also participating in a programme, without being
members of the organisation. For further information on OCCAR,
see http://www.occar-ea.org/ . Back
34
For full background on the EDA and its activities, see http://www.eda.europa.eu/
. Back
35
Stg Co Deb, European Standing
Committee B, 22 June 2004, cols. 3-24. Back
36
See (28212) and (29268) HC16-xi (2007-08), chapter 1 and (29341-3)
HC16-xi (2007-08), chapter 2 (6 February 2008). Back
37
See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmgeneral/euro/080310/80310s01.htm
for the record of this debate. Back
38
See headnote: (30175) -: (30176) 15442/08: and (30212) - HC 19-ii
(2008-09), chapter 10 (17 December 2008). Back
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