Eurodefense Nederland nieuws

  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...

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 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...

British troops exercise in Estonia as part of the NATO's EFP Source: II Defence Imagery, Flickr Editorial by Jan Wind in Eurodefense newsletter         Download the complete newsletter here . European cooperation for Defence is booming and will exponentially increase in the foreseeable future. Not so much in operations or foreign policy, where national sovereignty still is the dominant factor dragging down progress, but so much more in technology and industry.    The establishment of the Directorate Defence and Space Industry (DEFIS) and the European Defence Fund (EDF) provided a firm basis, and the war in Ukraine is - unfortunately - a strong catalyser to speed up policy development and practical implementation. A large team at DEFIS creates new concepts and rules. They lead the recently activated European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) to stimulate intergovernmental cooperation. The next programme to stimulate commo...

Over the past two years a working group comprising EDTA and Eurodefense members developed  "Recommendations on Energy, Security and Defence"  for the European Union and national MoDs. The resulting report was sent to the presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament on 15 February 2023.

Eurodefense Position Paper  A Strategic Compass: what’s next?  Introduction  This draft working document of Eurodefense Working Group 27B has been completed before and during the war in Ukraine. The recommendations in this working document are based on the draft EU-Strategic Compass (05-01-2022, working document of EEAS) and have only gained more urgency and relevance because of this war.  • Lessons learned in the aftermath of the Afghanistan’s collapse and the war in Ukraine clearly demonstrate that the moment to create a European Union Defense Organisation (EUDO) within the framework of the EU is now! It is now mandatory to define the mutual and binding defense clause of the TEU (art.42-7) especially for the protection of non-NATO members in the EU such as Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden.  • It reminds us that large scale conventional conflicts and military violence are a continuous and actual threat to the EU and t...

The 15 presidents of the EURODEFENSE network of defence and security specialists across Europe, meeting today, 28 March 2022: Condemn in the strongest possible terms the invasion of Ukraine. Congratulate and admire the Ukrainian people for their courage in the face of Russian aggression Note the rapid reaction of the European Union and nations in their support of Ukraine Recognise that further massive European aid will be necessary to support refugees and to rebuild Ukraine Welcome the commitment of European nations to accelerate meeting or exceeding their NATO spending targets Believe that a collective approach to defence, security and resilience is more important than ever. Resolve to continue with renewed urgency the network’s studies on practical steps for mutual defence.

The security and defence capabilities of the EU should be strengthened. There is a growing Europe wide support for a more effective defence and better cooperation. However, multilateral defence cooperation in past decades was difficult. To give new impetus to strengthening the security and defence of the EU, the EURODEFENSE Network, represented in 15 countries, has sent a practical proposal to the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council and the president of the European Parliament. European security is no longer just about military threats and the defence of territory of a member state. There are many new threats and developments that most individual Member States are unable to cope with. These involve various, often hybrid, threats such as cyberattacks, des-information, human trafficking, illegal immigration, terrorism, trade restrictions and conflicts in border regions. The last decades, Europe also has grown to be a major global player. Therefore,...