Airpower and its role in conflicts
CONFERENCE REPORT
EuroDefense Council of Presidents Meeting Paris, 17-19 April 2013 From 17 to 19 April, the French EuroDefense association welcomed the EuroDefense Council of Presidents in Paris, where the meeting took place. EuroDefense is a network of national associations represented in 13 EU Member States1, whose main objective is to contribute to the debates on European security and defence, but also to draw the attention of relevant political actors to this topic and inform European citizens about the stakes, challenges and determining factors which condition its effectiveness. EuroDefense members debate, conduct common studies on various aspects of European defence and the EuroAtlantic relationship, and organise na-
tional and international seminars and events in which aspects of European defence are brought up for discussion. The last President meeting in Paris offered the opportunity to get informed about the various activities of the national ED-associations, but what is more to elaborate a common contribution of the EDNetwork to be sent to President Van Rompuy in preparation of the December 2013 European Council on defence. This document focuses in particular on the need to clarify the level of Member State and European Union’s ambition concerning the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the conditions that are to be fulfilled to make the EU’s rapid response capabilities more effective, and the importance to strengthen the C2 struc-
Conference Reports tures and to implement an efficient European defence industrial and technological basis. On the second day an interesting visit to the MBDA office was organised – whose level of European integration must be underscored – followed by a seminar at which participants could discuss the problematic of achieving the European necessary capabilities for defence. The next international EuroDefensemeeting will take place in the Netherlands in October 2013. 1 Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Nederland, Portugal, Rumania, Spain, United Kingdom.
