Defence`s Feeds

The election of six new International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, to take place from 4 to 7 December, will for

On 26 October, SEDE will discuss with an expert the study on “Security implications of China-owned critical infrastructure in the European Union”. The study analyses Chinese companies’ access to EU critical infrastructure and exposes how entities linked to the Chinese party-state can gain access to and exert influence on assets that are vital to Europe’s security and defence, including transport infrastructure, critical resources, telecommunications networks, defence sector.
Members will have the opportunity to discuss on the major security risks of the EU's interdependence with China, which is particularly important given the structural geopolitical changes, especially the fallout of the war in Ukraine, climate change and the transformative technological revolution that is underway. In addition, Members will discuss amendments tabled to two SEDE Own Initiative Reports on the subject of "The security and defence implications of China's influence on critical infrastructure in the European Union" and the Subcommittee's flagship Annual Report on the Implementation of CSDP.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 26 October, a Hearing is organised on “Rising geopolitical tensions: the protection of subsea infrastructure, including communication cables and pipelines". As defence capabilities are connected digitally, undersea cables are vital for defence and security of EU Member States. The Hearing will therefore aim at assessing the current threat landscape and risks to subsea infrastructure, including different actors and their modus operandi to sabotage subsea infrastructure.
In the light of the recent reports of sabotage on the Finland/Estonia pipeline, the debate will also focus on possible ways to mitigate the risks, in particular via coordinated action with NATO to protect cross-border critical undersea infrastructure.
Draft programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

In the framework of a public Hearing on “Third state collusion with Russia: through arms export policy and the circumvention of EU policy and sanctions to prevent supplies to Russia’s military industry”, taking place on 25 October, Members will discuss how to prevent the circumvention, by Russia and its allies, of sanctions imposed in the aftermath of its war of aggression against Ukraine.
The debate focus on the scope and effectiveness of the EU anti-circumvention tool that was adopted with the EU's 11th package of sanctions designed to prevent Russia from acquiring goods for its defence industry. Members will also discuss additional measures to prevent Russia from accessing western military technologies, components and dual-use goods, via third countries, such as China.
Draft programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 23 October, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence will hold a hearing on "The situation in Syria 12 years after the revolution: Standstill, Dynamics, EU response, and Future Prospects?". It will provide a reflection on the political, social and economic consequences of the ongoing conflict, which has shaped the country's development in the twelve years since the Revolution. This hearing will take place during the EP Gender Equality week and
will give an opportunity to highlight the impact of conflict on women and the importance of women's contribution to conflict resolution and sustainable peace, in line with the UN resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Members will discuss with experts the geopolitics of the region under the changed circumstances, in which international and regional actors including Iran, Russia, Türkiye and the United States, but also local groups, are operating. The debate will also contribute to the upcoming AFET Recommendation on the situation in Syria for concretising political and diplomatic fine-tuning of the EU's Syria policy.
Programme and background documents
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

As the European Union’s Council and Commission Presidents hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington DC, the European Defence Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense are deepening transatlantic cooperation through broad cooperation.

At the last EU-US Summit in June 2021, EU and US leaders committed to working towards an Administrative Arrangement between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the US Department of Defense (DoD).

Based on the mandate from the Member States, EDA and the U.S. DoD signed their Administrative Arrangement in April 2023 following successful negotiations.

As highlighted by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who is also Head of the Agency, the EDA-U.S. DoD Administrative Arrangement provides another pillar to strengthen transatlantic cooperation and the link between the EU and the U.S.

Following the signing of the AA, the cooperation has been initiated in various work strands, namely

• Supply chains
• Standardisation
• Military mobility
• Chemical regulations, such as REACH
• The impact of climate change on defence

In addition to expert consultations, the AA foresees opportunities for high level dialogues with Member States. The first occurrence took place in late September 2023, when Michael Vaccaro, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy at the U.S. DoD, held informal talks on supply chain issues with the National Armament Directors of EU Member States, in a meeting chaired by EDA.

Last week, Dr. William LaPlante, the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and EDA’s Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý met to take stock of the implementation of the AA and continue the substantial defence dialogue on selected topics within the Agency’s area of expertise.

Both meetings provided an opportunity to take forward concrete cooperation within the AA.

As like-minded partners that share a commitment to a rules-based international order, particularly in support of Ukraine following Russia’s war of aggression, EDA and the U.S. Department of Defense are working through all areas of the AA to share information and deepen transatlantic defence cooperation at expert level.

For more information, please see here.

Cyprus-based data analytics specialist TRG Research and Development is remodelling. The company, run by Israeli entrepreneur Oren Jack Feldmann, has

An Indonesian delegation visited New Delhi's Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) during the Smart Cities India Expo on 27-28

Dong Jingwei waited until this 2 October to make his first public appearance and detail his security plans for Hong

The benevolent gaze of English actor Roger Moore in the role of James Bond next to a Kalashnikov lamp in

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan gave his lecture on "Palestinian resistance since 2021" at a conference at the Asia Middle

As Intelligence Online revealed yesterday, Glencore for years ran a massive intelligence operation against the Swiss giant's critics in Colombia

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are gaining further prominence in the European defence landscape, with the European Defence Agency (EDA) placing a strong emphasis on their development and integration into the armed forces of its Member States. Supported by EDA, the second edition of the European Military Additive Manufacturing Symposium, heard how growing recognition of the importance of AM technologies needs to be matched by greater collaborative efforts to harness its full potential, especially regarding legal aspects and standardisation.  

Organised by the German Association for Defence Technology (DWT), the two-day symposium gathered over 250 experts from the armed forces, industry, SMEs and academia in an expanded format. The wide-ranging event covered on site in military operations, quality assurance, use cases, training, and AMs integration into the military logistics system. The event also gave focus to overcoming some of the persistent barriers to AM’s wide adaption within European armed forces.

In his opening address to the event, EDA Deputy Chief Executive, Andre Denk said: “Additive Manufacturing is a key enabling technology that has significant potential to improve Europe’s industrial competitiveness due to its ability for rapid, decentralised and flexible manufacturing. As European actors, we must ensure timely technological research as well as the development of high-end military capabilities in the Additive Manufacturing domain.”

“At EDA we have transformed our work on Additive Manufacturing from research and technology to capability development. In support of our Member States, we have launched a set of initiatives and activities that will take our work on Additive Manufacturing even further”, he added.

The event also heard how the war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of agile logistics and the rapid repair of equipment, where Ukraine's Armed Forces use 3D printers to manufacture critical repair parts close to the point of need. This adaptability and integration of equipment is a model that EU member states could explore to enhance the resilience of their supply chains. One of the key messages from the event called for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to consider AM technology in the designing phase of military assets, to take full advantage of AM potential in future.

AM as a Key EU Capability

EDA has long recognised the importance of AM technologies in enhancing the sustainability and agility of defence logistics. Sustainable and agile logistics are essential for the projection, sustainment, and effectiveness of forces, requiring the development of future-generation logistic systems and the implementation of new technical solutions. AM capabilities are expected to reduce the EU's military logistic footprint, ultimately supporting combat maintenance.

To this end EDA representatives led several expert focused sessions on integration of AM into the logistic system of armed forces, evolving opportunities in R&T development and quailty assurance and qualification.

Background: EDA's work on AM: From research to capability

EDA has been actively working on AM technologies for several years. Initiating with a feasibility study in 2018, EDA explored the potential of AM to enhance logistic capabilities. Over the years, EDA has made significant strides in transferring research and technology work on AM to capability development.

One of the initiatives that EDA is undertaking is the Additive Manufacturing for Logistic Support (AMLS) project. AMLS focuses on determining common standards for the use of AM solutions within armed forces and facilitating mutual logistic support.

Additionally, EDA manages the Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED), which seeks to bring circular economy principles into European defence. The “Circular Additive Manufacturing” Project Circle has incubated three project ideas to further reduce the environmental impact of armed forces, by enhancing circularity in the use of AM.

EDA conducts various studies on legal aspects, IT-based frameworks, and common training and education related to AM. These studies aim to enhance the harmonization and effectiveness of AM deployment in military contexts. EDA also organizes events and workshops related to AM, such as the Additive Manufacturing Village – a five-day capability workshop - which brought together AM experts from military, industry, and academia.

On 23 October 2023, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence will hold a hearing on "The situation in Syria 12 years after the revolution: Standstill, Dynamics, EU response, and Future Prospects?". It will provide a reflection on the political, social and economic consequences of the ongoing conflict, which has shaped the country's development in the twelve years since the Revolution.
Members will discuss with experts the geopolitics of the region under the changed circumstances, in which international and regional actors including Iran, Russia, Türkiye and the United States, but also local groups, are operating. The hearing will contribute to the upcoming Recommendation on the situation in Syria that the Foreign Affairs Committee is preparing and which will provide recommendations for concrete political and diplomatic fine-tuning of the EU's Syria policy.
This hearing will take place during the European Parliament Gender Equality week and will be an opportunity to highlight the impact of conflict on women and the importance of women's contribution to conflict resolution and sustainable peace, in line with the UN resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Location : Antall 2Q2
Poster
Programme of the hearing
Briefing -Impact of sanctions on the humanitarian situation in Syria
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

In the framework of a public Hearing on “Third state collusion with Russia: through arms export policy and the circumvention of EU policy and sanctions to prevent supplies to Russia’s military industry”, taking place on 25 October, Members will discuss how to prevent the circumvention, by Russia and its allies, of sanctions imposed in the aftermath of its war of aggression against Ukraine.
The debate focus on the scope and effectiveness of the EU anti-circumvention tool that was adopted with the EU's 11th package of sanctions designed to prevent Russia from acquiring goods for its defence industry. Members will also discuss additional measures to prevent Russia from accessing western military technologies, components and dual-use goods, via third countries, such as China.
Location : SPINELLI 5E2
Draft programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

In the framework of a public Hearing on “Third state collusion with Russia: through arms export policy and the circumvention of EU policy and sanctions to prevent supplies to Russia’s military industry”, taking place on 25 October, Members will discuss how to prevent the circumvention, by Russia and its allies, of sanctions imposed in the aftermath of its war of aggression against Ukraine.
The debate focus on the scope and effectiveness of the EU anti-circumvention tool that was adopted with the EU's 11th package of sanctions designed to prevent Russia from acquiring goods for its defence industry. Members will also discuss additional measures to prevent Russia from accessing western military technologies, components and dual-use goods, via third countries, such as China.
Draft programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Yesterday the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence delivered to Congress the Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) as required by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022, as amended by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2023.

Service members are better prepared for their transition to civilian life today than at any other time in history, reflecting the Defense Department's commitment to taking care of its people, Ashish S. Vazirani said.

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