EDA News

Investment in research and innovation is at the heart of ensuring a competitive and efficient European defence and technological industrial base. An important step has been taken today with the agreement the European Commission and the European Defence Agency (EDA) signed to dedicate €1.4m to finance a limited number of concrete projects on emerging technologies in defence as well as activities linked to certification for military and civil uses.

Jorge Domecq, EDA Chief Executive, said: “Research and Technology is key for defence. The Pilot Project should add value to the ongoing collaboration in research of the Member States. It prepares for bigger initiatives such as the Preparatory Action for Defence Research that will focus on European priorities and address areas where the Member States can no longer act alone and where critical mass needs to be maintained. As such the Pilot Project is an important step towards Europe’s future defence capabilities and a strong and competitive Industrial base.”  

This agreement follows an initiative of the European Parliament and is a first agreement between the European Commission and the European Defence Agency. 

The European Defence Agency will provide its expertise and will run the projects on behalf, and in close cooperation, with the Commission. 

The EDA Steering Board tasked the Agency to support Member States in the setting up of the Commission’s Preparatory Action and recently adopted the modalities of implementation by EDA for the Pilot Project.

More information:

• Press release Communication COM(2013)542 "Towards a more competitive and efficient Defence and Security sector"
• PDF European Council Conclusions June 2015
• PDF European Council Conclusions December 2013

During the third Helicopter Tactics Instructors Course (HTIC), aircrew members from across Europe were working hard to master their skills. With successful delivery of the ground and simulator phase at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in the UK, and the phase at Vidsel test range near Lulea in northern Sweden, twelve student instructors from Austria, Germany, Sweden and the UK graduated from the course with Bronze or Silver HTI qualifications, corresponding to their experience and skills level.

It was the first case that the HTIC was delivered under an EDA Category B Programme with its own approved Programme Arrangement signed in March 2015 by Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The HTIC as a multinational tactical training course involved four helicopter types: Austrian Kiowa, Swedish Air Force Blackhawk and NH90, Chinook from the UK. It engaged more than one hundred military and civilian staff, and included more than two hundred hours of live flying.

The aim of HTIC is to teach experienced helicopter aircrew how to instruct tactics in the air and on the ground. It covers topics such as fighter jets evasion, electronic warfare against surface to air radar threats, convoy escort, vehicle check points and operating in the low-tech threat environment.  

A wide range of assets to provide the correct learning environment were required. The excellent support was provided by the Swedish Armed Forces with their Gripen fighter jets from 211 and 212 Squadron, the SK60 trainer aircraft and the ground-based radar defence systems as well as by the UK with their Hawk aircraft from 100 Squadron.

For the first time, the Staff Instructors included graduates from the previous courses. The two returning Swedish Instructors prove that the course can be self-sustaining and is able to achieve its aim of developing an internationally recognised cadre of tactics instructors who, in turn, can continue to deliver courses in the future. 

The HTIC is a high-value, intensive course that forges close links between all participants, creating a tight-knit community. Experience and knowledge are shared openly and honestly, and working on the principle of adopting best practices, continual improvement and standardisation serve as a constant theme. Everyone works together, harmonising tactics, techniques and procedures, with ever closer interoperability being the final goal. Through this international training, crews prepare for the coalition operations for the future. They train the way they fight so that they can fight the way they have trained – together! 

More information: 

• Helicopter Initiatives project page
• News "Third helicopter tactics instructor course launched" (2 September 2015) 
• The EAATTC15-3 factsheet is available here
• More information on the EATF is available here 

Ministers of Defence today met in the European Defence Agency (EDA) Steering Board, under the chairmanship of Federica Mogherini as the Head of the Agency. The EDA presented progress on the four capability programmes and initial roadmaps for potential future cooperative programmes: Biological Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (Bio-JDEAL), medical evacuation and anti-tank weapons. Minister of Defence also discussed the three year planning framework detailing the Agency’s work plan and priorities for 2016-2018 as well as the resources required to support this.

 

Three Year Planning Framework and 2016 General Budget

Federica Mogherini in her capacity as Head of Agency invited the Steering Board to approve the 2016 EDA General Budget of €33.5m. 

Approval of the EDA budget requires unanimity. Despite very positive feedback by Member States on the work and support by the Agency, there was no unanimity on the increased budget. Instead, the budget will remain at this year’s level – €30.5m (zero growth).

 

Implementation of Key Taskings and Next Steps

Ministers of Defence welcomed the progress achieved in the four capability programmes: Air-to-Air Refuelling, cyber defence, governmental satellite communications, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems.

Given the increasingly volatile and challenging security environment in and around Europe it is equally important that other critical capability priorities as identified in the Capability Development Plan also be addressed. Potential future cooperative activities require guidance to avoid fragmentation, focus future investment and give clarity to defence industry.

Ministers of Defence have today adopted the initial roadmaps for potential future cooperative programmes as proposed by the Agency: Biological Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (Bio-JDEAL), Medevac and Anti-Tank Weapons.

Bio-JDEAL: The proliferation of biological agents means the biological threat to Member States’ forces employed on operations remains real. Furthermore, the use of biological weapons or devices, particularly by non-state actors, can have a disproportionate effect on morale. Enhancing CBRN capabilities in operations has been outlined in the Agency’s Capability Development Plan as a priority action.

In order to counter these threats and assess the risk of exposure, a biological laboratory which could be deployed at short notice by a Member State would be able to:

• Conduct unambiguous in-theatre biological threat identification;
• Provide threat information to Command, enhancing the protection of EU forces and local populations and thus limiting casualties;
• Maintain Member States’ freedom of movement and action.

Following today’s approval, the roadmap foresees start of the expert group’s work still this year with a view to producing a Common Staff Target by the end of 2016 and a possible project launch by the end of 2017.

So far, eight Member States (Luxembourg, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy) and Norway have expressed interest in this project.

 

Medevac: Effective medical evacuation is a fundamental requirement for any military operation. Cooperation, interoperability, as well as common training, is paramount for Member States to constitute reliable MEDEVAC capabilities. As with the previous proposal, enhancing this capability is a priority action of the Capability Development Plan which was endorsed by Member States.

Following Minister’s endorsement, the work will start with a study on “Interoperability in Forward Aeromedical Evacuation with Rotary Wing” which will be launched this year. Based on the outcome of the study, the Agency will make proposals on possible interoperability activities and training.

This work builds on interest shown by seven Member States (Luxembourg, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Austria, Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy).

 

Anti-tank weapons: Anti-Tank capabilities are still of fundamental importance in the context of National security strategies. Some Member States still have in service equipment designed in the late 1970s which will become obsolete in the near future; they will need to consider upgrade or replacement of their systems. Others are willing to address the anti-tank weapon gap by developing new capability requirements potentially through joint procurement programmes.

To move ahead quickly, the Agency will together with Member States evaluate possible urgent requirements for commercial off-the-shelf solutions still in 2015. This project represents also a quick win opportunity for Pooling & Sharing.

Anti-tank is a domain where work will build on interest shown by nine Member States (Estonia, Romania, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Greece, Latvia) and Norway.

On 16 November 2015, the European Defence Agency (EDA) conduced its Annual Conference to address most up-to-date questions on the condition of European defence, and to propose a way ahead in various defence-related areas.  

Hosted at the Brussels’ Albert Hall, the conference gathered about 400 frontline leader and decision-makers in European defence from the worlds of military, politics, industry and academics. The conference began with one minute of silence to pay tribute to the victims of terror attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015. 

Welcome speeches 

Jorge Domecq, the EDA Chief Executive urged for more cooperation in defence: “it needs to be part of our DNA,” and the necessity to underpin a political will by actions: “We will only be able to adequately respond if the Union’s foreign policy ambitions are backed by the right defence capabilities at the right time, supplied by a globally competitive and technologically advanced industrial base in Europe.”

Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small Medium Sized Enterprises (SME), a keynote speaker, stressed that Europe is able to provide security and contribute to international peace and stability. She underlined the importance of synergies between defence and industry. She also presented the EU Commission’s  approach to defence, the work plan to follow as well as some ideas for stimulating defence research. Among other things, she insisted on reversing declines in spending to stimulate research: “European funding of research priorities can be a strong tool to bring all relevant actors together.”

Roundtable talks on defence capabilities 

During the first roundtable discussions Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, General Mikhail Kostarakos, (designate) Chairman of the EU Military Committee, Giovanni Soccodato,  Executive Vice President Strategy of the Markets and Business Development at Finmeccanica and Daniel Koštoval, Deputy Minister for Armaments and Acquisition of the Czech Republic, shared their ideas on how to improve EU defence capabilities. 

Among the conclusions of the vivid discussions, there was a need formulated to noticeably increase defence cooperation and restrain from spending in national isolation on defence capabilities. The lack of a proper political guidance as well as too much of a national focus were recognised as prime reasons for a too slow-paced progress in terms of cooperative capabilities development. A financial aspect and a popular phrase “doing more with less” was considered outdated by the speakers who underlined the gravity of European defence capabilities. In this context, a new financial instrument, the VAT exemption for EDA-led programmes and projects, was accessed positively.

Second part of the conference

The second part of the conference initiated Conrad Bruch, Director of Defence at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, who took the floor on behalf of Etienne Schneider, Vice-Minister, Minister of Economy & Minister of Minister of Defence: “We welcome work on a global strategy that will encompass all the tools at our disposal to create a stronger and more secure Europe,” he said. He also emphasised that closer cooperation is necessary to avoid threats and challenges to “come closer”, and gave examples of  Luxembourg’s involvement in cooperative projects and missions. 

Special addresses 

The highlight of the annual conference were two special addresses delivered by Federica Mogherini, Head of the European Defence Agency, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, and Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General. Both prominent guests emphasised solidarity, partnership of the EU and NATO as well as the need to stand united to face the current threats. The both condemned the terrorist attacks conducted on 13 November 2015 in Paris. “We will strengthen our resolve,” Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, stated. 

“We cannot afford to act without a rational strategy and a vision what we want to achieve and how we want to get there,” said Federica Mogherini about a global strategy for Europe that is currently being prepared. As she admitted, defence and security will be part of each chapter. Federica Mogherini also stated that the EU is a security provider for many and it is ready to mobilise all the instruments, including the military ones. She reassured the need to cooperate with the EU neighbours and emphasised the relations with NATO.  “There is no security without defence, there is no defence without capabilities and no capabilities without industry,” said Federica Mogherini addressing the capability dimension of defence and stressed the important role of the European Defence Agency when it comes to deepening cooperation and capability development. 

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General stated that “security is interconnected” and reassured that both organisations are determined to develop closer cooperation. He also listed possible areas for stronger partnership, including countering hybrid threats or helping partners in neighbourhood. “We share the same values and commitment to freedom, democracy and human rights. Those valued are under threat; this is what we saw in Paris on Friday. Those values must be defended by us. That is why we work together and that is why we will take our cooperation to the next level: not just side by side but also hand in hand,” said Jens Stoltenberg about the EU-NATO partnership.  

Roundtable talks on defence research

The second and also the last panel discussion of the Annual Conference brought defence research on the agenda. Recognised as a key factor for capability development, defence research funding has experienced a significant decrease in the recent years. Along with the Preparatory Action, the EU might finance defence research for the first time in history, which may steer research development. 

The experts – Michel Barnier, Special Adviser to the European Commission President on defence matters, Antoine Bouvier, President & Chief Executive Officer of MBDA Millie Systems, Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament and Tassos Rozolis, Chief Executive Officer of AKMON and Chairman of the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence and Security Material Association – discussed the requirements to set the level of ambition in Research & Technology and to define a way ahead. They also stressed the need to translate political will into concrete programmes and procurements in order to help a strong European defence industry base to develop. Ideas of balancing the co-existence of Small Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and big players as well as the implications of dual-use technologies were also widely discussed. 

A final word

"There is no alternative to defence cooperation," said Jorge Domecq, the EDA Chief Executive, in a summary for this year’s Annual Conference. He also underlined the necessity of better spending of available resources and supporting industry in order to develop a strong European industry base.  

More information 

• EDA website on Annual Conference 2015 
  
  
  
  

More than 400 participants attended this year's EDA Annual Conference. High-level speakers shared their vision on European defence cooperation. Several of the speeches are now available here below.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs opened the conference with a keynote speech underlining the importance of synergies between defence and industry. 

Federica Mogherini, Head of the European Defence Agency, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO delivered special addresses emphasising among other things EU-NATO complementarity and partnership in facing common challenges.

You can access their speeches as well as the welcome word of Chief Executive Jorge Domecq via the links below.

More information:

• News "The first part of EDA Annual Conference" (17 Nov 2015)
• News "EDA Annual Conference: the second part" (17 Nov 2015)
• PDF "Welcome words by Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Opening keynote speech by Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Special address by HR/VP Federica Mogherini" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Special address by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg" (17 Nov 2015)
• EDA Annual Conference 2015

The second part of the European Defence Agency (EDA) Annual Conference held on 16 November 2015 was built around a question on research opportunities at the EU level.

Prior to the fruitful discussions on various aspects of research and the “dual-use” concept, the floor was taken by Mr Conrad Bruch, Director of Defence at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, who represented Etienne Schneider, Vice-Minister, Minister of Economy & Minister of Minister of Defence: “We welcome work on a global strategy that will encompass all the tools at our disposal to create a stronger and more secure Europe,” he said and continued: “We need to become more effective in facing crisis, we have the right tools and structures at our disposal,” he said, also mentioning the role of the European Defence Agency.

Special addresses

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, and Federica Mogherini, Head of the European Defence Agency, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, marked their presence during the conference and delivered special addresses. “We cannot afford to act without a rational strategy and a vision what we want to achieve and how we want to get there,” said Federica Mogherini about the upcoming global strategy, stating that defence and security will be part of each chapter. High Representative also emphasised the European Defence Agency’s achievements in terms of capability development.

A common element of speeches of both Federica Mogherini and Jens Stoltenberg was the focus placed on the EU-NATO complementarity and partnership in facing common challenges. As NATO Secretary General stated: “European security is interconnected”. He also emphasised that determination for closer cooperation is on both sides: “it is not something we should do but something we must do.”

Roundtable 2 „New research opportunities at EU level: a game changer for the industry?”

The discussions of the second roundtable were steered by Michel Barnier, Special Adviser to the European Commission President on defence matters, Antoine Bouvier, President & Chief Executive Officer of MBDA Millie Systems, Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament and Tassos Rozolis, Chief Executive Officer of AKMON and Chairman of the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence and Security Material Association.

The speakers were especially referring to the reduced  funding of European defence research as well as the Preparatory Action, which is expected to include financing defence research by the EU budget for the first time in history.

“No Member State has the means to ensure the full capability spectrum,” admitted Michel Barnier. Antoine Bouvier drew attention to the need of identifying the level of ambition and “set a new dynamics in Research & Technology”. Also Ana Gomes stated there is a need for political will that will be translated into concrete programmes. Tassos Rozolis called for an industrial strategy so that “the industry knows where it should go” and underlined the importance of practical implications of the programmes that shall lead to procurements.

The Annual Conference was summarised by the EDA Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq.

More information:

• News "Annual Conference 2015: Speeches available" (17 Nov 2015)
• News "The first part of EDA Annual Conference" (17 Nov 2015)
• PDF "Welcome words by Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Opening keynote speech by Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Special address by HR/VP Federica Mogherini" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Special address by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg" (17 Nov 2015)
• EDA Annual Conference 2015

The first part of this year’s European Defence Agency's (EDA) Annual Conference “European Defence Matters” has been accomplished. Prominent decision-makers and frontline leaders in European defence from the worlds of military, politics, industry and academics met on 16 November 2015 to discuss European defence.

The conference participants observed one minute of silence to pay tribute to the victims of terror attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015. In the light of these tragic events, the discussion on European defence has been given a very realistic dimension, proving that European defence does matter.

“Crisis situations are not reducing; they are on the increase. The demand for the EU to act as a security provider will continue to increase. We will only be able to adequately respond to this if the Union’s foreign policy ambitions are backed by the right defence capabilities at the right time, supplied by a globally competitive and technologically advanced industrial base in Europe,” said Jorge Domecq, the EDA Chief Executive. He also underlined the necessity to underpin political will by actions, and to translate it into military objectives. Jorge Domecq stressed that “Cooperation in defence is not a natural reflex. It needs to become so: to be part of our DNA.”

Keynote Speech

A keynote speech was delivered by Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small Medium Sized Enterprises (SME). She underlined the importance of synergies between defence and industry. She also presented the Commission’s approach to defence, the work plan to follow as well as some ideas for stimulating defence research.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska stressed that Europe is able to provide security and contribute to international peace and stability. Regarding research, she insisted on reversing declines in spending to stimulate research: “European funding of research priorities can be a strong tool to bring all relevant actors together.” "We will only be successful if we are work together: the Commission, the European Parliament, the European Defence Agency, the European External Action Service and the Member States and industry,” she concluded.

Roundtable 1: „European defence capabilities: what’s next?”

The first roundtable discussions on the European defence cooperation and capabilities were led by prominent guests: Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, General Mikhail Kostarakos, (designate) Chairman of the EU Military Committee, Giovanni Soccodato,  Executive Vice President Strategy of the Markets and Business Development at Finmeccanica and Daniel Koštoval, Deputy Minister for Armaments and Acquisition of the Czech Republic.

The panel discussion raised the question of the future of European defence capabilities. Moreover, defence cooperation was analysed from a political, military and industrial viewpoint.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert assessed that “we do not need more wake-up calls” and insisted that the only way to protect national sovereignty through military means is by defence cooperation. She also called for sharing plans for capability development plans among the Member States.

General Mikhail Kostarakos drew attention to the defence spending stating that “to do more with less” is no longer a good solution as it may lead to loosing combat capabilities.

Daniel Koštoval emphasised that “a political will is required to allocate more money to defence and formulate where we are going”. He also identified the need to maintain “balanced armies” taking into consideration the whole spectrum, the light and heavy equipment. 

Giovanni Soccodato stressed the need for a common European market and a proper environment  for defence industry to consolidate.

The speakers recognised an important role of the European Defence Agency to play in terms of capability development.

More information:

• News "Annual Conference 2015: Speeches available" (17 Nov 2015)
• News "EDA Annual Conference: the second part" (17 Nov 2015)
• PDF "Welcome words by Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Opening keynote speech by Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Special address by HR/VP Federica Mogherini" (17 Nov 2015)
• Video "Special address by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg" (17 Nov 2015)
• EDA Annual Conference 2015

Member States can as of now profit from VAT exemption for projects run by the European Defence Agency (EDA). The recently adopted revised Council Decision defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the EDA includes the clause that cooperative defence projects and programmes are exempt from VAT as long as the Agency adds value to the initiative. 

“The VAT exemption is a strong incentive to European defence cooperation: it generates an attractive business case for cooperative projects and programmes in the framework of the EDA. We will soon propose roadmaps for potential future cooperative programmes for which Member States will be able to benefit from the VAT exemption and thus achieve considerable savings”, comments Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency.

With the entering into force of the revised Council Decision on 13 October, the new provision can be applied immediately for any new EDA initiative meeting the Decision’s conditions. VAT exemption is not linked to the nature of the activity. It can thus be applied to any project and programme where the Agency adds value ranging from technical expertise, pooling demand, building a multinational capability or synergies with EU wider policies, promoting interoperability to full administrative and contractual management of a cooperative initiative. Member States are and remain the end-users of the capability. 

 

Concrete savings

“While the VAT exemption should not be the driver for defence cooperation, tight defence budgets limit investment in research, innovation and capabilities. Any breathing space is appreciated. By incentivising defence cooperation financially, we will be able to do more and better together”, says Jorge Domecq.

One of the projects the VAT exemption will be immediately applied to is the EU SatCom Market, an EDA project where the Agency provides for satellite communication services for currently eleven Member States and the Athena mechanism. The EDA is responsible for procurement and contract tasks, manages orders as well as payments and provides technical advice as needed and thus adds clear technical and administrative value to the project. As a consequence, each order – which comes from Member States individually or by groups – benefits from VAT exemption. 

One Member State has for example recently submitted an order of about 1.3 million Euros for one year of services. Due to the VAT exemption, this Member State will not have to pay VAT for a corresponding value of 273 thousand Euros which represents about three months of free services.

Legal basis

The Council Decision defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the EDA (Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835) was adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 October 2015. It foresees that VAT exemption applies to activities where the role of the Agency in administering projects or programmes in support of Member States brings an added value. 

The legal basis for VAT exemption are Protocol No 7 of the EU Treaties on the privileges and immunities of the European Union and Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax.

The VAT exemption is compliant with EU law; and is not market distorting.

 

Background

The European Defence Agency was set-up in 2004 to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the European Union’s defence capabilities for the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). This means running and supporting cooperative European defence projects; supporting research and technology development; boosting the European defence technological and industrial base; and working on wider EU policies.

 

More information:

• Council Decision CFSP 2015/1835
• News "Outcome of the EDA Steering Board" (28 October 2014)

The European Defence Agency (EDA) is currently looking for a Project Officer Airworthiness (TA, AD10), two Procurement and Contract Officers (TA, AD7), an Administrative Assistant (TA, AST4) and an IT Security Administrator (CA, FGIV). Candidates must apply via the EDA website by 23 November 2015.

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives including its annual Work Programme and its rolling three-year Work Plan. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

More information:

• Current EDA vacancies

From 27 to 29 October 2015, an Awareness Level Module of the European Armament Cooperation Course (EAC) is taking place at the European Defence Agency’s premises. Organised by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and the Austrian Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Sports, the course has attracted the highest number of attendees in its four-year history. Forty-six enrolled students represent thirteen EDA Member States, the European Commission, European External Action Service (EEAS) and Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR). 

The aim of the EAC course is to enhance mutual understanding of the armaments cooperation issues and to serve as a useful networking platform to foster and harmonise armaments cooperation among the Member States. Most of all, it addresses junior personnel who need to gain knowledge and experience in international acquisition and project management. The course also complements the curriculums of available national courses. “We believe that the practitioners who work in national and international armament cooperation can highly profit from the course. We are able to provide them with practical knowledge and understanding of the armament sector along with its frameworks, the stakeholders’ tools and processes as well as challenges and benefits available at the EU level,” says Massimo Guasoni, the EDA Head of Unit Education, Training & Exercise.

Towards Europe’s strategic autonomy 

Rini Goos, the EDA Deputy Chief Executive, welcomed the course participants and, in his speech, he pointed out the key elements for European strategic autonomy and freedom of action: “Apart from working on capabilities, first of all, we must strive to enhance investment in traditional defence research, particularly in collaborative Research & Technology. Secondly, we need a sound European industrial policy. Thirdly, I would like to mention standardisation: a pan-European standardisation approach is the key to increase European competiveness on a global scale and to strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base Strategy; it is also the main driver for interoperability. And last but not least, civil-military ‘dual-use’ synergies need to be better exploited. It is only if we move ahead along these four strands of work that Europe will be able to attain strategic autonomy and become a security provider rather than a security consumer”.  

Dr Wolfgang Sagmeister from the Austrian MOD being the Course Director will make sure that all the course objectives will have been met. The topics on the agenda are much varied and include the presentations of the EDA and the ESDC; military dimension of the Common Security and Defence Policy; EU military capability development along with the EDA Capability Development Plan, current trends in military defence capability development; intercultural aspects in international cooperation; EU Defence policies in a wider context, and other.  

The EAC course traditionally comprises two parts: an Awareness Level Module taking place in Brussels, and an Expert Level Course, which will be held from 23 to 27 November 2015 in Warsaw, Poland. However, in order to attend the course, it is mandatory to complete an Internet-based Distant Learning (IDL) module offered by the ESDC. 

Shaping an educational platform Since 2006, the EDA had been working towards establishing a proper training frame in response to the growing needs for harmonised education in the armament acquisition field. In 2009, the Czech Republic’s EU Presidency supported the creation of a new European armaments cooperation course, providing an EU-wide training platform where a common understanding of a European approach to armaments cooperation could be promoted. The EDA Member States welcomed the initiative and later that year the EDA Steering Board, in the National Armaments Directors configuration, approved the top-level European Armaments Cooperation (EAC) Framework, under which the current course was established.

In 2013, thanks to the initiative of Austria and other like-minded countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, the course took its current form. It followed the success of the pilot European Armaments Cooperation Course organised in Brussels and Stadtschlaining in 2012.

More information:

• News: "EDA organises joint course with European Security and Defence College" (28 October 2014)
• European Security and Defence College website

The European Commission and the European Defence Agency (EDA) launched the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector today. The Consultation Forum highlights the importance of energy and energy security as a defence capability. Its aim is to examine how energy efficiency measures and renewable energy sources might be better implemented within the European defence sector. 

“Europe’s armed forces are continuously working towards improving their energy efficiency as well as energy security. The consultation now offers an opportunity to explore important areas of energy policy implementation which will be of benefit to the armed forces as well as the EU as a whole. It also confirms the Agency’s unique position as interface between armed forces, European institutions as well as the expert community“, said Jorge Domecq, EDA Chief Executive, at the occasion of the consultation’s launch. 

"The Consultation Forum is part of a wider EU action to bring energy efficiency in all areas, including in the defence and security sector, allowing the sector to be a more competitive and efficient and to reap the full benefit of single market. The sector has a strong interest in reducing its energy footprint and could thus make an important contribution to the Union’s energy targets", said Paul Hodson, Head of Energy Efficiency Unit in the Energy Directorate General in the European Commission. 

The Consultation Forum brings together European experts from the energy and the defence sectors with the aim to deliver benefits in support of the European Commission’s energy efficiency and renewable policies. 

The Consultation Forum is divided into three working groups. The first examines the management and behavioural aspects of energy efficiency. The second tackles energy efficiency in relation to infrastructure primarily, but also in wider defence estate and – on request of Member States – in deployed camps within Europe and EU operations as well as other military platforms. The third addresses the use and production of renewable energy sources. 

All in all, it is estimated that 120 defence policy and planning as well as engineering and logistics experts plus representatives from academia, industry and national ministries will contribute to the work. The first plenary session of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector will take place on 14-15 January  2016 in Brussels.   

 

Background 

The work is conducted under the umbrella of EDA’s Energy and Environment programme. The programme is designed to identify areas of common interest for European armed forces as well as to create and understand the framework for a comprehensive approach to energy management for military forces. The programme also aims to identify fully integrated solutions where both energy reduction and environmental impact are assessed together. The EDA Energy and Environment Working Group was established in June 2014 and has so far worked on a number of projects including the Strategic Research Agenda, a Demand Management (Smart Camp) Technical Demonstrator which has recently been deployed to Mali and Power Purchase Agreements (Go Green). 

 

More information:

• Energy & Environment project page
• Dedicated website on the Consultation Forum

On 13-14 October 2015, the European Defence Agency (EDA) organised the Test & Evaluation (T&E) Collaboration Workshop to bring the concept of T&E Collaboration support closer to the Member States and, for the first time, to provide practical training in cooperation mechanisms and available tools. 

Representatives of six Member States participated in the training event, i.e. Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Romania, and the United Kingdom. The workshop was directed to national test centres, project managers and coordinators who may request the EDA T&E Collaboration support. 

The workshop’s agenda covered the whole package of available tools, not only the Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB). Additionally, it offered practical training opportunities with exercises and tests to improve the understanding of the T&E Collaboration operation. 

The workshop started with the theory part, during which the participants were presented with how the EDA T&E Collaboration works, along with some way ahead for the future. The practical part of the training included live exercises with the use of dedicated support tools. In particular, the Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB) was used for initiating cooperation, the Collaboration Database (CODOBA) tool for the management of the cooperation, and the Capability Development Plan (CDP)  for capability implications. Additionally, the training touched upon the standardisation aspects in accordance with the European Defence Standards Reference System (EDSTAR). 

The workshop participants discussed the utility of support tools and the practical ways of cooperation under the different schemes, e.g. test arrangements, Category A/B projects, working groups and EDSTAR expert groups. “The  constructive feedback from the participants will enable us to further optimise the tools and make them as user-friendly as possible,” said Thomas Honke, an EDA project officer on T&E, Qualification and Standardisation. The T&E Collaboration Workshop ended with an official hand-over ceremony of certificates. 

The EDA plans to offer further annual T&E collaboration training events using this format.

Background

The European Defence Agency has taken up the initiative of supporting European Test and Evaluation (T&E) Collaboration in 2013 in a systematic approach. Since that time, the DTEB database has been created enabling enhanced networking amongst T&E facilities and capabilities in Europe. The database is additionally linked to the EDSTAR, CODABA and CDP tools in order to allow swift identification of potential cooperation opportunities and future T&E capability requirements for common staff targets. Moreover, the EDA has initiated a crosscutting T&E expert group in EDSTAR to identify best practice T&E standardisation and to further stimulate T&E cooperation.

More information: 

• Project page Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB) 
• Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB) factsheet

The European Defence Agency (EDA) is continuing to promote maritime affairs and to develop, with Member States, the next generation of mine counter measure solutions via the successful delivery of Unmanned Maritime Systems projects. 

The latest of the fifteen coordinated projects to be successfully delivered, that comprise the Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS) Programme, one of the largest in the Agency, is the SIRAMIS project. This Dutch-led project, consisted of seven Contributing Members and addressed the knowledge gap of ship signatures with the overall aim of understanding ship signature interaction with multi-influence mines at a close range. This project presented a considerable challenge for the consortium, which comprised of industry, national research centres and academia, both in terms of signature measurement and signature analysis. It also placed an emphasis on cooperation and mutual support, which are the hallmarks of the EDA projects. 

With the successful delivery of this project, plans are at an advanced stage for a follow-on project that will build on the advancements already made and will further address the modelling and simulation dimensions. A feature of the UMS programme is the coordination between projects, and the developments and gains made have positive implications for the follow-on Modular Lightweight Mine Sweeping project that will be launched shortly. 

Maritime Conferences

The EDA is co-organising two conferences on maritime topics. These conferences present an opportunity to engage with key stakeholders and to fully explore and address the pertinent issues relating to the maritime domain. 

The first conference will be held on 29th October 2015 in Berlin and is co-organised with EuroDefense Deutschland. The conference will focus on key questions that relate to UMS and principally address the operational perspective of the introduction of UMS, collaborative efforts resulting in technological advancements and, lastly, the area of legislation, safety and regulation will be explored.  

The second conference will take place on the 12/13 November 2015 in Nicosia and is co-organised with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus. The conference will be  conducted within the framework of the Luxembourg Presidency of the European Council. The focus of the conference will be on the Maritime Security Strategy and it will explore the challenges and potential benefits of the implementation of the strategy via its action plan. In particular, the conference will address Europe’s sea lines of communication and the challenges facing European navies. It will also examine the potential of the strategy to be considered as a catalyst for Civilian Military coordination.

More information:

• Invitation for Maritime Unmanned Systems Conference
• Invitation for Maritime Security Conference
• Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS) research 

The European Defence Agency invites all users of its Procurement Gateway to participate in a user experience survey. The gateway features defence related business opportunities and information. It aims at providing easy access to defence related information for European government officials, as well as industry representatives and researchers. 

The survey, available until 30.10.2015, will allow the Agency to better understand the needs and expectations of gateway users. It only takes a couple of minutes to be completed and all data shared will be of course treated with complete confidentiality and anonymity.

Share your user feedback, help us improve!

Participate in the survey here.

The Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg has adopted the revised decision on the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency.

The text is available here in all EU languages.

As of 1 October, the European Defence Agency (EDA) has taken over the provision of Satellite Communications (SatCom) services for the EU Training Mission (EUTM) in Somalia.

EUTM Somalia is the first CSDP military mission to draw on the option of the Agency to cover its requirement for SatCom services. Earlier this year, Athena - the mechanism established to finance CSDP military operations - joined the Agency’s EU SatCom Market as part of its efforts to improve the procurement process of the different operations. 

Through the Agency, the mission benefits from a strategic link between Somalia and Europe. The services include rental, shipping and installation of a C-band remote terminal in Mogadishu International Airport as well as a high data rate unclassified satellite link with anchoring in Europe. The services include also 24/7 technical support and on site-intervention if required.

In the coming months, the Agency will also take over the provision of Mobile Satellite Services for the operations EUNAVFOR Atalanta, EUTM Mali and EUTM Somalia as well as ATHENA Central.

Speaking about the cooperation, Brigadier General Antonio Maggi, EUTM Somalia Operation Commander said: “Thanks to the excellent cooperation between the EUTM J6 team, EDA and the contractor, EUTM Somalia will benefit from a reliable and secure connection with Europe for its Command and Control chain.”

EDA’s Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq added: “Supporting CSDP operations is one of the core missions of the EDA. I am confident this first example will pave the way for other CSDP military operations to make extensive use of all the support the Agency can provide.”

EUTM Somalia

On 10 April 2010, the European Union launched a military training mission in Somalia (EUTM Somalia) in order to contribute to strengthening the Federal Government and the institutions of Somalia. This support is part of the EU's comprehensive engagement in Somalia, which aims to support stabilising the country and to respond to the needs of the Somali people.

Since 2010, EUTM Somalia has contributed to the training of approximately 3,600 Somali soldiers with a focus on the training of Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), Junior Officers, specialists and trainers. 

EU SatCom Market

Within the EU SatCom Market project, EDA acts as the central purchasing body on behalf of the contributing members. It purchases the services from a commercial provider. The project uses a ‘pay-per-use’ model, so members do not have to contribute with regular fees, instead they only pay for what they order. Since May 2013, 24 orders have been passed for a total value of around €4 million. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Portugal, Romania, the United Kingdom and the Athena Mechanism are members of the project. Further participation is open to all EDA participating Member States as well as all entities entitled to take part in Agency activities.

The Athena Mechanism

Athena is the mechanism established to administer the financing of the common costs of European Union operations having military or defence implications governed by Council Decision 2015/528/CFSP. The Council Decision allows for arrangements to be signed with union bodies to facilitate procurement in operations in the most cost-effective manner.

 

More information

• News "EDA supports EUTM Mali to enhance medical facilities" (8 September 2015)
• News "Athena joins EU Satcom Market" (18 June 2015)
• News: "EDA signs cooperation arrangement with Athena" (2 March 2015)
• EU SatCom Market project page
• Operations Support project page

 

The European Defence Agency (EDA) last week successfully installed energy management equipment at camp Koulikoro, the location for the European Union’s Training Mission (EUTM) in Mali. The equipment is part of EDA’s Smart Camp Technical Demonstrator project which analyses the benefits of integrating new technologies into traditional power grids for deployed camps.

The elements installed include fixed solar photovoltaic panels on a test building (16KWp), flexible soldier portable solar photovoltaic panels as well as monitoring and metering equipment for water and electricity. The test building is occupied by the Belgium contingent who will provide valuable feedback regarding end-user experience with energy demand management. 

Objective of Demonstrator

The demonstrator will be installed initially for a test phase of twelve weeks. The objectives are to:

1. Test efficiency of various types of photovoltaic panels in specific climatic conditions;
2. Test the integration of renewables with battery storage in a deployment scenario;
3. Test demand management technology and its impact, if any, on inhabitants;
4. Raise awareness of energy efficiency and renewable energy as a military capability;
5. Encourage energy efficient behaviour among troops;
6. Collect reliable data for analysis and sharing with other Member States and further work;
7. Collect data to develop benchmarks for planning support tools for CSDP operations.

Further Opportunities for Energy & Environment Management

Following the test phase, further work can be envisaged including an upscaling of the equipment installed to provide more renewable power to the camp, water management technologies, waste management technologies including waste to energy conversion and further efficiency measures. A full report will be presented at the next Energy & Environment working group meeting on 12 and 13 November in Brussels.

 

More information:

• More information on the Agency's energy and environment programme is available here. 

On 7 October, EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq met with Pedro Morenés, Spanish Minister of Defence, to exchange views on cooperation opportunities and assess ways to enhance Spain’s involvement in EDA projects. Mr Domecq also visited the EU Satellite Centre for discussions with Director Pascal Legai.

Jorge Domecq and Pedro Morenés had a fruitful exchange of views, especially on different aspects of military aviation and space initiatives currently covered by the Agency. Other topics discussed were the European Tactical Airlift Centre in Zaragoza (this centre will be established in the framework of the Agency’s air transport programme by 2016), EDA's key programme on Government Satellite Communications (GovSatCom) which is led by Spain and other areas of EDA's work such as on Research and Technology. Discussions also covered broader aspects with focus on EDA's role to ensure civil/military synergies aiming to achieve efficiencies, in line with June 2015 Heads of State and Government tasks. Mr Domecq also met with the the Spanish Secretary of State of Defence, the Spanish Deputy Chief of Air Force, as well as the National Armaments Director.

The visit to Madrid also gave occasion to enhance cooperation between the EDA and the European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen). Jorge Domecq and Pascal Legai agreed that common challenges in operations should be explored through EDA's expertise on capability development, for example as regards earth observation, on the grounds of the complementary roles of the two agencies. Other topics of discussion were cooperation in space surveillance and tracking, maritime and border surveillance as well as cyber.

 

More information:

• Cyber defence project page
• Military airworthiness project page
• SESAR project page

Thirty two participants representing eleven countries and twenty-four industrial and governmental organisations met for the second edition of the European Reference Open Architecture Standard for a Modern Integrated Electronic Mission System in Military Land Vehicles (LAVOSAR II) workshop, held at the European Defence Agency (EDA) on 9 July 2015. 

Very positive comments after the first LAVOSAR workshop organised in 2014 resulted in the continuation of an initiative to promote and develop an open architecture standard for military land vehicles. It is important to underline the fact that previously involved industry unanimously supported the idea and joined in for the second session.

Whilst LAVOSAR I focused mainly on mission systems of land vehicles of participating member states, LAVOSAR II went one step further to specify in more detail areas not covered before, e.g. selected aspects of maintenance and logistics. Several work packages which are currently under investigation in the ongoing LAVOSAR II study were incorporated in the workshop agenda. These included elements such as Architectural Domain Analysis and Requirements, Workflow and Procedure Update, Through Live Capability, Open Reference Architecture Standards Update, Alignment with NATO General Vehicle Architecture (NGVA) and Architecture Contribution to the EDA Repository.

An important aspect of the LAVOSAR project is how it dovetails with NATO General Vehicle Architecture (NGVA) standardization efforts. As highlighted by Member States at the CapTech Ground Systems meetings, the LAVOSAR work should  complement other international organisations’ efforts regarding the construction of an efficient open architecture Marek Kalbarczyk, EDA moderator of the CapTech stressed the importance of the initiative: “Implementation of open architecture to mission systems for land vehicles would bring not only whole life cost savings of between 10 - 25% to Member States, but would also simplify logistics and increase operational functionalities.”

Lively and fruitful discussions held throughout the workshop added substantial value to the ongoing LAVOSAR II study and will be integrated in the study results to advance work in the open architecture domain.

More information: 

• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop Study Presentation
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop 1
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop 2 
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop 3  
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop 4
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop 5
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop 6
• LAVOSAR II Industrial Workshop Minutes  
• News "LAVOSAR Study Delivers Results" (16 June 2014)

On 2 October 2015, the last out of fourteen chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protection projects within the Joint Investment Programme CBRN (JIP CBRN) was signed by Henk Geveke, Director TNO Defence and Security, on behalf of the consortium, and Rini Goos, Deputy Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA).

The signatures give way to the project “RACED”, which aims at enhancement of decontamination (DECON) procedures of material or equipment exposed to chemical or biological warfare agents. It will focus on a scientific and technological consideration of the complex question of “how clean is clean enough?”

The “RACED" project will assess DECON procedures and, finally, will result in a prototype of a tool that shall assist operational commanders in minimizing the after-decontamination exposure risk, and assist them in making decisions on the assessment of the sufficient level of DECON, remaining hazards in terms of exposure to human beings and necessity of taking additional steps. 

“RACED” will be conducted by a consortium led by TNO from the Netherlands with partners coming from four more Member States and Norway: FFI (Norway), ITQB (Portugal) LBDB (Portugal), ACMIT (Austria), ADL (Austria), RMA (Belgium) and SUJCHBO (Czech Republic). The project is one of fourteen projects under the EDA Joint Investment Programme CBRN protection (JIP-CBRN), set up as Category A programme and funded by twelve Member States plus Norway with almost 12 million euro budget. It serves as an EDA contribution for the European Framework Cooperation, a joint effort of the European Commission and the EDA on maximising synergies between civilian and defence-related research activities.

The JIP-CBRN Programme Arrangement was signed in March 2012 on the ministerial level and two calls for proposals were conducted in 2012 and 2013, covering various Research &Technology projects within the CBRN area, such as: stand-off detection for chemical agents, point detection of biological agents, unknown samples handling, modelling & simulation of CBRN architectures, decontamination, protection equipment and sensor networking. With seven projects initiated within the first call frame, one has already been accomplished. This year, the “Biotype” project successfully ended with a demonstrator device with an integrated biosensor for point detection of airborne bio-threats based on anti-body lab on a chip technology.

More information:

• CBRN Joint Investment Programme 

 

More information:

• Interview: The hybrid warfare challenge (22 July 2015)
• Project page: hybrid warfare