Bridging the Gap Between European Strategy and Capabilities

European Arms Agency, BRUSSELS: Nick Witney, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, today welcomed a report on European defence published by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and said the Agency shared its view that there was no viable alternative to Europeans working together to improve Europe's capabilities.  
 
In a speech at the launch of the report in Brussels organised by the New Defence Agenda, Witney identified seven challenges for governments in addressing the industrial and technological aspects of European defence integration.  
 
He said governments must give industry the right requirements for the future, present a long-term vision of future needs, pool their requirements, try to create a consolidated single European market, focus on the European defence technological and industrial base as a whole, increase the proportion of spending on defence investment rather than personnel, and increase the amount spent on Research & Technology.  
 
“If we wish to preserve a globally competitive defence technological and industrial base in Europe, then we must invest in it; we must invest more than we currently do; and we must do more of that investment together,” he said.  
 
Click here to read the CSIS report on European defence integration