EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý is in Austria (10-11 January) for high-level talks with Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner, Chief of Defence General Robert Brieger, Defence Policy Director Dr Arnold Kammel as well as the national Capability, Armaments and Research Directors at the Ministry of Defence, Major General Bruno Hofbauer, Major General Harald Vodosek and Colonel Rudolf Zauner. The trip to Vienna is part of Mr Šedivý’s ‘tour des capitales’ that, since last year, sees him visiting all EDA Member States.
Yesterday’s discussions with Minister Tanner mainly focused on Austria’s strong involvement in EDA’s current and future activities, the need to drive defence innovation in Europe and the prospect of reinforcing EDA's role in supporting Member States in this area , the contributions the Armed Forces can make to the EU’s Green Deal policy, the follow-up on the conclusions and recommendations of the first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) presented in November 2020, the state of play in the PESCO implementation, the functioning of the European Defence Fund (EDF) as well as the preparations for the EU’s Strategic Compass to be approved next March.
A particular focus was put during these talks on two specific Austria-led projects in which the Agency is directly involved: - the Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Surveillance as a Service (CBRN SaaS) project launched under PESCO which, at the request of its participating Member States, is supported by the Agency since 2019 when a dedicated EDA project was established on this topic; - and the Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Reconnaissance Surveillance System (CBRN RSS) project, funded and implemented under the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP), for which EDA has now been tasked to act as the project manager (see related news).
“I am particularly grateful for Austria’s very active involvement in the Agency’s work and, especially, for its leading roles in the Counter-IED area, where it hosts the European Centre for Manual Neutralisation Capabilities (ECMAN), and the CBRN reconnaissance and surveillance domain. Back in 2019, the CBRN SaaS project was the very first PESCO project for which EDA’s direct support was requested by the participating Member States, led by Austria. This served as an important signal and example which, since then, has been followed by the owners and drivers of four other PESCO projects. We hope that many more will follow in the future because the Agency is keen and ready to provide this kind of expertise-based support to its Member States. I can only thank the Austrian authorities for their strong commitment to EDA’s activities and European defence cooperation in general, and encourage them to pursue on this path”, Mr Šedivý commented.
Austria’s Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said: “Today I met the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency Jiří Šedivý to discuss current projects and future cooperation between the European Defence Agency and the Austrian Armed Forces. EDA supports the EU Member States in developing and improving military capabilities through cooperation in the field of R&D. With its network and expertise the EDA is thus an important partner as well as an important instrument of the EU to support smaller member states in European defence cooperation. Austria has been an active and tireless member of the EDA since it began its work in 2004. With more than 30 projects, Austria is one of the most committed member states, ranking sixth next to Poland. For our Ministry of Defence, the PESCO project "CBRN Surveillance as a Service" has become a particular showcase project. It was launched in 2018 and aims to develop the use of unmanned ground systems and drones equipped with sensors to detect CBRN warfare agents in a timely manner. As an intergovernmental agency, the EDA plays a decisive role in promoting innovation both for Austria and other Member States. Concerning the future, we want to focus even more on cooperation and collaboration with the Defence Agency, for the safety of the population in Austria as well as in Europe as a whole”.
Industry event
Today 11 January, Mr Šedivý will meet with the CEO of the Austrian Defence & Security Industry (ASW), Reinhard Marak, and other industry representatives and participate in an industry event.
Written by Etienne Bassot.
Two years of pandemic have taught us – institutions, researchers and citizens alike – how much today’s issues are global. From fighting the virus to addressing climate change or securing supply chains, the pandemic has accelerated our awareness of our common destiny. Global issues call for global solutions and global leadership − solutions that can inspire other countries and continents all over the world.
Watch the video on “Ten issues to watch in 2022“.To help us to understand these global challenges and make sense of what is unfolding before our eyes, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) asked its policy analysts to identify ten issues to watch in 2022. With so many burning issues in Europe and in the world, a selection of just ten is by definition subjective. Yet, it is the opportunity to shine the spotlight on a series of topics selected for their obvious importance or their relevance to global leadership. EPRS then tasked the experts selected to explain why these issues matter particularly in 2022 and what we might expect in the year to come. For other issues that remain ‘hot’, such as migration at Europe’s borders and the situation in Ukraine, readers will find our analysis in previous editions of this publication (listed under the ‘Further reading section’) and in the thousands of publications EPRS has issued online and in paper over the years.
While the previous edition of this publication, and the associated introductory event, had highlighted the interdependence of the selected issues, the underlying theme of this 2022 edition is the global nature of the issues. This is seen in the written contributions but also inspires the visual representation of the ten issues on the cover of this publication. The ten topics selected either affect the world as a whole − achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth, securing supply chains, moving towards sustainable agriculture, ensuring nuclear non-proliferation − or present standards, solutions or ways ahead that could be taken up worldwide. These include shaping the recovery, striking the right monetary policy balance between continued favourable financing conditions to support the recovery and addressing inflation concerns, setting standards for the internet of things, the potential of the truly innovative participatory democracy experience of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the vision of a continent where people in all their diversity are equal, and strengthening a defence union when the European Union is experiencing ‘loneliness’ (solitude) in transatlantic relations and needs to define its ‘narrative’ (récit), to quote Luuk van Middelaar’s geopolitical analysis.
The year 2022 brings us into the third year of a pandemic that is far from over, although the resilience of people and societies has been tested to the limits. But 2022 also means the next European elections are just two years off, with a series of issues where the European Union has demonstrated its capacity to rebound, shape its future, and project its leadership worldwide, and where the European Parliament is in the vanguard. This 2022 edition brings some notes of hope at the start of a critical year. We hope that you will enjoy reading this latest edition of ‘Ten Issues to Watch’ and that it will stimulate your own reflection, and ignite your curiosity as you explore the challenges and opportunities of 2022.
Read the complete in-depth analysis on ‘Ten issues to watch in 2022‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
Or watch the video on ‘Ten issues to watch in 2022‘ on YouTube.
Chips global supply chain Global fabrication capacity by region, 2019 (%) Developments in EU defence under the current Commission