Agence France-Presse,
LYNEHAM, England: European Union defence ministers gather in southern England on Thursday to examine a plan to inject competition into Europe's arms industry, amid warnings the bloc is failing to address its security needs.
The informal one-day meeting, at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Lyneham west of London, will also assess progress made by the EU's mission in Bosnia.
The talks come amid renewed calls to boost EU defence spending, notably in research and development and in key areas such as mid-air refuelling planes, as the EU's theatre of operations spreads from the Balkans to Africa.
They also come a day after two respected generals warned that Europe could be overwhelmed by security challenges like international terrorism unless it reverses a failure to pool its defences.
“Staying the course is not an option — indeed, it is a recipe for disaster. Seen in this light, defence integration is not just an appealing or interesting idea: it is an imperative,” they said in a report.
The plan to further open EU borders to the arms industry is encapsulated in a new voluntary and non-binding code of conduct drawn up by the European Defence Agency (EDA).
Concretely, defence contracts worth more than around one million euros would be advertised on a single electronic portal where companies in the bloc could tender for them.
At the moment, member states quietly lump their defence deals under a piece of EU legislation — Article 296 — which is meant to exempt them from normal market rules only in cases where their security interests are under threat.
But the European Commission, the EU's competition watchdog, plans to crack down on abuses of the article and has forced the industry's hand.
If the code is to their liking, the defence ministers could adopt it when they meet officially late next month.
Lyneham airbase is temporary home to the RAF's air tanker fleet, which is expected to put on a display during the meeting and like much of the EU's defence structure is in vital need of investment.
The EU has around 40 such aircraft in operation, compared to hundreds in the United States, and needs 80 to do a satisfactory job. Italy has recently bought some new aircraft, but the French and British fleet is ageing.
The ministers are expected to form a group of up to eight countries to address the problem.
Another key area where funding is lacking is defence research and development, to which the United States dedicates five times more funding.
“If you want a strong and healthly European defence, technological and industrial base, you have to invest in it. We are not investing enough and we are not investing together,” a senior EU official said.
The official's remarks echoed those of US General Joseph Ralston and General Klaus Naumann of Germany.
Their report calls on EU and NATO members to re-allocate defence spending so that 25 percent of budgets is spent on research and new weapons, while no more than 40 percent is spent on personnel, compared to around 50 percent currently.
