Eurodefense Nederland nieuws

    A new ambitious European Commissioner for Defence In the current shifting global security dynamics and the increasing recognition of the need for a cohesive defence strategy, we as Eurodefense have taken a proactive stance in advocating for enhanced European defence cooperation. Since the inception of our federation in 1992, we continuously have emphasized the importance of a united approach to defence across Europe. This article intends to be a recommendation to the new European Commission, where Mr. Andrius Kubilius is the designated Commissioner for Defence. According to his Mission letter [1] as issued by Mrs. Von der Leyen, he will draft a white paper on Defence within 100 days after his appointment. The recommendations  in this article   by Eurodefense Netherlands for the European Defence Union , the Rapid Deployment Capacity , the European Defence industry  are based on several policy proposals of the Eurodefense network over the last eight years. Our vision on  Eurob

2024 Bordesfoto kabinet Schoof ( Beeld: Valerie Kuypers) De veiligheid en soevereiniteit van Nederland wordt in toenemende mate uitgedaagd door Russische agressie en Chinese ondermijning. Hierin staat Nederland niet alleen, heel Europa kampt met deze problematiek. De meest effectieve garantie voor het behoud van onze soevereiniteit bereiken we via de NAVO en de EU. Onze verdediging begint al bij de Baltische staten, daar zal Nederland voor de lange termijn moeten bijdragen aan de Enhanced Forward Presence.  Gemeenschappelijk veiligheidsbeleid . Om instabiliteit aan de grenzen van Europa tegen te gaan zal Nederland ook haar rol moeten blijven nemen in missies buiten het Europees grondgebied. Gezien de vergevorderde economische integratie van de EU blijft Europese samenwerking de geëigende vorm voor onderlinge coördinatie en gezamenlijk optreden op het wereldtoneel. Om dit effectief te doen zal de EU echter een veel sterker geïntegreerd gemeenschappelijk buitenlands-, veiligheids- en de

  The absence of a common and harmonised arms export control in the European Union is an issue complicating Member State (MS) exports of military equipment already for a long time. Major combat systems can only be exported when all member MS originating equipment allow the OEM to do so. Sometimes also transport across another MS is also complicated by export limitations of that particular MS. A Eurodefense working group (EWG35) researched this issue in the spring of 2024. Their report contains the  following conclusions and recommendations and was endorsed by the Eurodefense Presidents Council on 22 May 2024: 1. Solid control of arms export is a major government responsibility of our respective Member States, but, if cleared, strong coordinated political support as well is desirable in a very competitive environment. 2. T o achieve a critical mass for our defence industries, arms exports to third countries are of critical importance, just as the progressive establishment of a Common

  Eurodefense heeft de Tweede Kamer gesuggereerd om mogelijkheden voor een Europese pool met militair personeel te laten onderzoeken en waar nodig de wet- en regelgeving aan te passen. Het Commando Zeestrijdkrachten kampt met personeelsproblemen. Recent heeft dit ertoe geleid dat de Zr. Ms. Rotterdam aan de kant is gelegd. Dit is een ongewenste situatie voor een krijgsmacht, die gereed moet zijn voor de verdediging van het Nederlandse en bondgenootschappelijk grondgebied. Een deel van de oplossing zou kunnen liggen in multinationale bemanningen.  De uitdagingen van de nabije toekomst​ vragen om een schaalbare marine die adaptief en wendbaar kan optreden. Vlootvernieuwingsprogramma’s zijn of worden gestart om (weer) over een technologisch hoogwaardige vloot te beschikken. Echter, juist de technisch opgeleide bemanning is de groep waar het in de marine het meest aan schort. Met alle gevolgen van dien.    Nederland is niet alleen met deze uitdaging. Verschillende van onze vaste en vertro

The growing tensions in the world, the electoral uncertainties, and above all the war of Russia against Ukraine and its threats to the territories of the Atlantic Alliance, stress the need to urgently improve in quality and volume the European operational and industrial Defence capabilities. This augments the absolute necessity to prepare ourselves as Europeans to the worse scenarios. We definitely need to spend more and better by reinforcing the common requirements among members states. At the same time, any possible defence procurement occasion has from now on to take into consideration the duty to reinforce the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) through more consolidation at the prime contractor level and more competition in the supply chain (European Defence Equipment Market- EDEM) on a long-term vision. For reasons of resilience, restructuring the EDTIB should allow and promote spreading of production throughout our continent. To reach these objectives t

The Joint Communication of 5 March 2024 on a new European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) is an indisputable step forward, not least for the simple reason that it focuses on the industrial aspect of Europe's defence capability and therefore on strengthening itself and the Alliance.   On 1 June 2024 the Eurodefense network sent the comments below to the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Chief Executive of EDA, the director of OCCAR and multiple authorities in Member States of the European Union.  What are the strengths and weaknesses of this communication? We focus here on the founding principles of this Communication and not on its detailed recommendations for implementation, which is the subject of the proposal for an EDIP regulation, which will be discussed within the European bodies: 1. The strategic frameworks , namely the Versailles Declaration of 10-11 March 2022 and the Strategic Compass adopted unanimously by the

The reform of juste-retour, compensation and industrial participation 29 May 2024 The Ukraine War has seriously added relevance to questions about effective ways to reshape the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). This is especially true in the EU where the traditional focus on national industry through economic offset and industrial participation has led to scattered development and costly production lines. Current policies of European Member States require compensation or industrial participation for the Defence industry when purchasing capabilities abroad. These are beneficial for the national industry of the Member States in the short and medium term, but complex and a cost driver for industry. In the long term this is not the best economic way forward for the European Union as a whole. National security is still used as main reason for these policies, but interdependence in the EU has risen to a level that strategic autonomy of a single Member State is impo

  Eurodefense Netherlands and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers  organise an  international seminar titled " European Policies for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence ". The seminar will take place in hybrid form on May 24th at KIVI in The Hague.  Follow this link to register . Early this year, the European Union adopted the groundbreaking European Union AI Act, marking a significant milestone in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. However, this law does not cover defence-related applications of AI. However, the development of AI in the defence sector is just as rapid as in other sectors of society. Therefore,  during our seminar, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of AI for our sector and the potential implications for European policies. Five leading speakers will provide a broad overview of future AI related developments in the defence sector and indicate their implications for existing and future policies. This incl