European Defence Agency

European Defence Agency

Agency overview
Formed	12 July 2004 (2004-07-12)
Jurisdiction	European Union
Headquarters	Brussels, Belgium
Annual budget	€30 million (2009)[1]
Agency executives	Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive
Key document	Council Joint Action 2004/551/CFSP
Website	eda.europa.eu

The European Defence Agency (EDA; French: Agence européenne de défense, AED) is an agency of the European Union (EU) based in Brussels, Belgium. Set up on 12 July 2004, it is a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) body reporting to the Council of the European Union. Its primary role is to foster European defence cooperation.

History

The European Defence Agency is part of several decades of steadily more formal defence cooperation in Europe. Its work is a continuation of the work of the Western European Armaments Organization (WEAO) and the Western European Armaments Group (WEAG) – it effectively represents the transference of their functions from the WEU to the EU framework, and thus continues the decommissioning of the WEU. It may also be seen as growing out of the Eurofighter Typhoon project, and other collaborative defence efforts.

Dr. Javier Solana was the inaugural head of the EDA, a position which he maintained from 2004 to 2009. He was succeeded by HRUFASP Baroness Catherine Ashton, who was succeeded by Federica Mogherini.

The inaugural civilian Chief Executive Officer was chosen as Nick Witney, a position he maintained from 2004 to 2007.^[2] Herr Alexander Weis succeeded him, from 2007 to 2010. The post of chief executive was vacant from October 2010 to January 2011, when HRUFASP Catherine Ashton appointed Claude-France Arnould in succession to Alexander Weis.^[3] It was reported that this nomination had been blocked by the Italian government of Enrico Letta which wished to see its own candidate take up the post.^[4] Arnould left office in February 2015 and was replaced by Spanish diplomat Jorge Domecq.^[5]

Initially and up until 31 December 2013 the agency was organised into five directorates.^[6] On 20 November 2013 a new streamlined organisational structure, listed below, was announced which came into force on 1 January 2014.^[7]

At a European Council meeting on 19 December 2013, a European Air Force (EAF) consisting of surveillance drones, heavy transport airplanes, and air-to-air refuelling planes was debated.^[8] This EAF was proposed by the External Action Service of HRUFASC Catherine Ashton, and was seconded by President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.^[9] The EAF proposal was supported by Hollande, Rajoy, Letta, Tusk and Merkel who together have QMV majority on the Council. The debate was joined with a view presented by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who maintained that "Nato will remain the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security".^[8] Rasmussen's view prevailed on the Council at this time because QMV did not take effect in Council decisions until 1 November 2014.

Mission

The Council established the EDA "to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future”. Within that overall mission are four functions;^[10]

• Development of defence capabilities in the field of crisis management.
• Promotion and enhancement of European armaments cooperation.
• Working to strengthen the Defence Technology and Industrial Base and for the creation of an internationally competitive European Defence Equipment Market.
• Enhancement of the effectiveness of European Defence Research and Technology.

These tasks have been distilled into four strategies:^[11]

• The Capability Development Plan (CDP) provides to Member States an auditable picture and assessment of capability trends and requirements, over the short, medium and long term, in order to inform national decisions on defence investments; this includes the identification of areas for cooperation for capability improvement, and the proposal concerning options for collective solutions. The CDP is the overall strategic tool, the ‘driver’ for R&T investment, for armaments cooperation and for the defence industries.
• The European Defence Research & Technology (EDRT) strategy aims at enhancing more effective R&T in support of military capabilities. The EDRT strategy defines the ‘Ends’ (in which key technologies to invest), the ‘Means’ (how to do this) and the ‘Ways’ to implement the ends and means through roadmaps and action plans.
• The European Armaments Cooperation (EAC) strategy is focussed on promoting and enhancing more effective European armaments co-operation in support of CSDP capability needs. The EAC strategy defines how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of European armaments programmes by a series of actions, applying lessons learned from past experiences through a ‘Guide to Armaments Co-operation Best Practice’.
• The European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) strategy describes the future European defence industrial landscape, based on the three Cs: Capability-driven, Competent and Competitive. The future EDTIB has to be more integrated, less duplicative and more interdependent, with increased specialisation, for example by establishing industrial centres of excellence. It refers to action fields for which Governments will be responsible, such as consolidating demand and investment. Logically, the strategy links the work on realising the future EDTIB to the Agency’s activities on the European Defence Equipment Market. Special attention is paid to the importance of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises with their typical flexibility and capacity to innovate.

Current Projects

The EDA works in a wide variety of areas. Some of its most notable current projects are listed below:^[12]

Management and Organisation

The Agency is monitored and managed in three ways.^[13]

• Head of the Agency: Responsible for overall organisation and functioning, ensures implementation of guidelines and decisions, chairs ministerial meetings of Steering Board. Currently, High Representative Federica Mogherini
• Steering Board: The agency's decision making body, composed of the defence ministers of participating Member States together with a representative of the European Commission and led by the Head of the Agency^[10]
• Chief executive: Head of staff and responsible for supervision and co-ordination of units. Currently Jorge Domecq.^[5]

Up until 31 December 2013 the agency was organised into five directorates: Capabilities, Armaments, Industry & Markets, Research & Technology, and Corporate Services.^[6] On 20 November 2013 a new organisational structure was announced which came into force on 1 January 2014.^[7] In the new structure the agency was reorganised into three directorates, listed below:

Cooperation Planning & Support

The Cooperation Planning & Support directorate focuses on the early identification of requirements at European level and the through-life aspect of capabilities. It is responsible for capability planning through the Capability Development Plan and the Cooperative Programme Database; and Pooling & Sharing including the Code of Conduct. It deals with Defence & Industry analysis to complement the identification and development of capability demands. The directorate is also responsible for key enablers to support defence cooperation and enhance interoperability: military airworthiness, standardisation and certification, and education and training. In addition, it will support CSDP operations and EU Battlegroups at the request of Member States.

Capability, Armaments & Technology

The Capability, Armaments & Technology directorate is responsible for preparing future programmes by maximising synergies between capabilities, armaments and Research & Technology. The directorate brings together the Agency’s work in the areas of: Information Superiority (Communication & Information Systems, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, Space, Cyber Defence); Air (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, Air-to-Air Refuelling, airlift and aerial systems technologies); Land (Counter-IED, armoured systems, camp protection and land systems technologies); Maritime (Maritime Surveillance, Mine Counter Measures and naval systems technologies); and the Joint domain (mobility, transport, medical and Ammunition). In particular identifying future Critical Defence Technologies needed to support military capabilities.

European Synergies & Innovation

This directorate is an interface between national defence ministries and wider EU policies that have implications for defence. Its main tasks is to promote and support innovation through innovative research in the areas such as: Components, Radio-Frequency & Optical Sensors, Materials and Structures, Energy, and CBRN protection. It is responsible for developing synergies and greater complementarity with EU programmes such as Horizon 2020 and European Structural Funds. The directorate is also the Agency’s focal point on Space Policy, on which it will have a close dialogue with the Commission and the European Space Agency. It is responsible for Market & Industry policy, including SMEs, Security of Supply, the REACH regulation, market efficiency and global aspects of the defence market. The directorate is also responsible for the military dimension of the Single European Sky, with a particular emphasis on the SESAR deployment phase, as well as the EDA’s activities in the areas of Green Energy.

Budget

The agency is financed by its members in proportion to their Gross National Income. An effect of this is that some nations pay different contributions towards the budgets than others. For example, in 2007^[14] the biggest budgetary contributor was Germany at a cost of €4,202,027 followed by the United Kingdom paying €3,542,487, and France paying €3,347,139.

This budget covers the Agency's operating costs. Individual projects are funded separately.

The budget and expenditure of the EDA is given in the table below^[15]

As of December 2014, EDA has a staff of 126.^[16]

Membership

The European Defence Agency (EDA) members

All EU member states take part in the agency, except Denmark, which has opted out of the CFSP.^[13]

Administrative Arrangements with non-EU members

The Agency signed Administrative Arrangements with Norway (2006),^[17] Switzerland (2012), the Republic of Serbia (2013) and Ukraine (2015) enabling them to participate in EDA’s projects and programmes without exercising voting rights. All Administrative Arrangements are approved by the European Council. The Head of the Agency is responsible for negotiating these arrangements in accordance with directives given by the EDA Steering Board.^[18]

Review of the United Kingdom’s membership

In 2010 it was reported^[19] that should the British Conservative party win the 2010 General Election, then they would withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Defence Agency. On 28 October 2010 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Astor of Hever) at the British Ministry of Defence stated in the House of Lords that:^[20]

"The Secretary of State for Defence has agreed that we will remain in the European Defence Agency for a period of two years, then we will review the status of our membership".

Two years later, in October 2012, Lord Astor confirmed that this review was indeed under progress, and that "all options, including complete withdrawal, [were] being considered".^[21] On 12 February 2013, the UK Government announced that the UK would remain a member of the EDA, the Government having "concluded that the agency has achieved some progress against identified shortfalls. There is, however, further work to be done to improve its performance".^[22]

The UK remains a member as of June 2016,^[23] and it is unclear whether the UK will leave the organisation, or remain a participant through an administrative arrangement, if it leaves the EU.

See also

• European External Action Service
• Common Foreign and Security Policy
• European External Action Service
• Military of the European Union
• European Union Satellite Centre
• European Union Institute for Security Studies
• Western European Union
• European Defence Community
• European Defence Initiative
• European Union defence procurement
• European Security Strategy
• Overseas interventions of the European Union
• Franco-British Defence and Security Cooperation Treaty and Downing Street Declaration
• NATO Research and Technology Organisation
• Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR)
• EUFOR
• European Gendarmerie Force
• European Maritime Force
• EU Battlegroup

References

External links

• European Defence Agency Official website (eda.europa.eu)
• Council Joint Action 2004/551/CFSP of 12 July 2004 on the establishment of the European Defence Agency Official website (eur-lex.europa.eu)
• CSDP structure, instruments, and agencies, EEAS website
• European Defence White Paper EU ISS Document

Foreign relations of the European Union
Bilateral relations See also: Economic relationships with third countries Africa & the Middle East Bahrain Cape Verde Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco Palestine† South Africa Syria Yemen Americas Argentina Brazil Canada Cuba Greenland Mexico United States Asia-Pacific Australia China (People's Republic of) India Indonesia Japan Kazakhstan Malaysia Nepal North Korea Pakistan Philippines South Korea Europe Albania Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Faroe Islands Georgia Iceland Kosovo† Liechtenstein Macedonia Moldova Monaco Montenegro Northern Cyprus (Turkish Republic of)† Norway Russia San Marino Serbia Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Vatican City General Members’ overseas territories Largest trading partners Association Agreements Free trade agreements †= Disputed state, may not be recognised as an independent state by some or all European Union members.
Multilateral relations and initiatives Organisations Arab League ASEAN Commonwealth of Nations ECHR G8 ICC United Nations Initiatives African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Asia–Europe Meeting CARIFORUM Customs Union Eastern Partnership Energy Community Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly European Common Aviation Area European Economic Area Euro-Mediterranean free trade area Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Euronest Economic Partnership Agreements EU CBRN Risk Mitigation CoE Initiative Neighbourhood Policy Northern Dimension Mediterranean Union Stabilisation and Association Process
Andministration and policies Foreign and Security Policy Security Strategy Everything but Arms Security and Defence Policy Enlargement Administration Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development External Action Service Foreign Affairs Council High Representative (Federica Mogherini) Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign Policy Instruments Service Diplomatic missions of the EU (ambassadors) / to the EU Special Representatives
Military and security Initiatives Defence Initiative Synchronised Armed Forces Defence Procurement Petersberg tasks Helsinki Headline Goal Structures Political and Security Committee Military Committee Military Staff Operations Centre Security & Defence College Defence Agency Institute for Security Studies Satellite Centre Joint Situation Centre Forces Eurofor Eurocorps EU Battlegroup EU Gendarmerie Force EU Maritime Force Deployments

Agencies of the European Union
Operating	Safety and Health at Work Vocational Training Centre Living and Working Conditions Environment Training Foundation Drug Addiction Medicines Intellectual Property Plant Variety Translation Food Safety Maritime Safety Aviation Safety Information Security Disease Prevention and Control Satellite Navigation Railways Border and Coast Guard Fisheries Chemicals Gender Equality Fundamental Rights Defence Security Studies Satellite Centre Police College Police Judicial co-operation Energy Regulators Regulators of Electronic Communications Banking Authority Securities and Markets Authority Insurance and Pensions Authority Innovation and Technology
Proposed	Space (currently separate organisation)
Executive	Competitiveness and Innovation Education, Audiovisual and Culture Health and Consumers Trans-European Transport Network Research Council
Euratom	Euratom Supply Agency ITER and Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy)
Former	Reconstruction (transferred to DG Enlargement)