| Author (Person) | Davies, Eric | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 26.7.04 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 26/07/2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On 14 June EU Foreign Ministers agreed to create a European Defence Agency. The new body should be operational by the end of the year. Its responsibilities will include developing the Union's defence capabilities in relation to crisis management, and promoting cooperation on research and procurement. A Joint Action establishing the Agency was published on 17 July. Background In June 2003, the Thessaloniki European Council instructed the Council of the European Union to make preparations for the creation of an 'agency in the field of defence capabilities' (see In Focus: Despite the inevitable disagreements between Member States, the Union has moved quickly to create the new body. Foreign Ministers agreed on 14 June, at the External Relations Council, to adopt a Joint Action on the establishment of the European Defence Agency. The Agency's mission 'is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the EU's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the ESDP as it stands now and develops in the future'. Member States will, however, retain their competence in defence matters. All EU Member States bound by the Joint Action can be involved in the work of the Agency, although participation is not compulsory (Denmark will not take part: the Treaty on European Union included a Protocol exempting Denmark from involvement in defence matters, so it is not bound by the Joint Action). 'The establishment of the Agency should contribute to the implementation of the Article 5 of the Joint Action sets out the Agency's functions and tasks. Four main fields of activity are identified:
The Agency will operate under the aegis of the Council. In May and November of each year, it will provide the Council with an annual report on its activities during the previous and current 12 months. The November report will also provide information on the Agency's draft work programme and budgets for the following year. Located in Brussels, the Agency will have a mix of staff: some on fixed-term contracts, and others - national experts and EU officials - on secondment. The Agency's initial financial framework will span 2006 to 2008. The Financial Times reported that the budget for 2004 'will be only 2m ($2.4m, �1.3m), rising to 25m by 2005, including 10m for set-up costs' (see: Although agreement was reached, the Agency 'has been subject to different interpretations by the EU's two biggest military powers' said the Financial Times. 'The UK emphasises the needs to improve capabilities through steps such as greater inter-operability of equipment. France has also stressed the need to develop Europe's defence industry' (see: (At one point the deal seemed to be under threat from a dispute between France and the UK over voting rights on the Agency's board - see European Voice: Efforts to promote EU-wide purchasing of defence equipment have largely failed, and most is still purchased by individual Member States (see Financial Times: On 15 June, executives of the defence companies Thales, EADS and BAE Systems published an open letter, calling on Member States to 'beef up their spending on defence research, technology and acquisition, to turn their political commitment on new defence capabilities into concrete realities, and to make better use of limited budgets through the launching of a European Defence Agency' (see: The new European Defence Agency - getting above the clouds). The letter warned that, 'faced with many institutional and practical challenges, there is a serious risk that the Agency will fall short of the ambitions and expectations set for it. Slowness in the next stage of build-up, complexity of decision-making processes, and a lack of resources, notably for Research & Technology investment, would inhibit its full development. There is a danger that it may not achieve in a reasonable timeframe its goals in relation to an effective European defence equipment market and competitive technological and industrial base.' Further information within European Sources Online European Sources Online: Topic Guides
European Sources Online: In Focus
European Sources Online: Financial Times
European Sources Online: European Voice
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
Council of the European Union
Other organisations Forum Europe
Thales Group
Eric Davies Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry, Security and Defence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
