EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY—STEERING
BOARD MEETING, OCTOBER 2006
Letter from Des Browne MP, Secretary of
State, Ministry of Defence to the Chairman
You will be aware that the Ministerial Steering
Board for the European Defence Agency (EDA) met on 3 October.
Prior to this meeting I wrote to you with the agenda, draft papers
and an outline of the likely points of discussion.
I enclose the final versions of the papers that
were considered at the EDA Steering Board (not printed). As
I warned in my letter of 27 September 2006,[63]
these papers were amended following an official level meeting
prior to the Steering Board. The main changes were that the agenda
item on the Defence R&T Joint Investment Programme on Force
Protection was not discussed as an "A Point", but an
information paper on this matter was discussed, and that the EDA
Priorities and Financial Framework paper was amended, with the
proposed net increase in core staff being reduced from 10 to six
per year.
You will be aware that EU Defence Ministers
met for an informal meeting on 2-3 October 2006. In line with
our commitment to transparency of ESDP-related business, the commentary
at Annex (not printed) therefore outlines the discussions
that took place at the informal meeting of Defence Ministers and
sets out the outcome of the EDA Steering Board on 3 October.
20 October 2006
63 Correspondence with Ministers, 40th Report of Session
2006-07, HL Paper 187, p 159. Back
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