Lobbying for and against defence

By David Cronin

Date: 17/11/05

The biggest lobby group for the defence industry in Brussels represents more than 800 firms with a combined yearly revenue of EUR 100 billion.

The Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) was only launched in April 2004, but its antecedents are older. It was formed out of a merger between the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA), which was formed in 1950, the European Defence Industries Group (EDIG), which was created in 1976, and the Space industry organisation Eurospace.

One of the ASD's top priorities has been to secure more funding for military research and development (R&D).

The European Commission has proven receptive to this call. Earlier this year, it announced that EUR 3.5bn - or EUR 500 million per year - had been earmarked for security and Space as part of the 2007-13 Seventh Framework Programme on scientific research. If EU governments endorse the programme, it would be the first time that such vast amounts were devoted to military R&D from the Union's budget.

The Commission, nominally an entirely civilian institution, has acknowledged that the defence lobby has heavily influenced its decision to put the emphasis on defence. In a statement issued in April, the Commission noted that the idea of setting up security-specific research projects was first proposed by the so-called Group of Personalities (GoP). Set up by Philippe Busquin and Erkki Liikanen, then the commissioners for scientific research and enterprise, in 2003 the GoP had 25 members, eight of whom had extensive experience in arms companies, including Siemens, EADS, BAE Systems and Thales.

According to a Commission statement, the EU needs to co-ordinate R&D in this field as existing efforts are fragmented and therefore lack the "mass of scale" needed to bolster Europe's defence industry. Describing security as a "precondition of prosperity and freedom", the EU executive argued that the research would enhance the competitiveness of the arms industry and contribute to the Lisbon Agenda of turning Europe into the world's economic powerhouse.

Some analysts believe, however, that the defence industry's tentacles stretch too far into the corridors of power.

In a recently published study, Frank Slijper from the Dutch Campaign Against the Arms Trade said that the work of the European Convention, the body which created a draft EU constitution, was an example.

Slijper argued that the working group on defence in the Convention took a narrow view of the concept of security. "Its hearing of almost exclusively top military bureaucrats, four-star generals and the arms industry was a serious shortcoming," he wrote. "Human rights organi-sations, development workers, churches and local grassroot organisations all have their expertise in dealing with conflict prevention and resolution, often thinking in very different terms to those who clamoured to be heard."

Article takes a look at the European Union's defence lobby. Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'Defence'.

Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe: Homepage http://www.asd-europe.org/main.html

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