Michel Barnier/Antonio Tajani, Brussels

News: Council declaration on Syria

Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Brussels, 27 May 2013

“The Council agreed the following elements on the renewal of the restrictive measures against Syria: 1) At the expiry of the current sanctions regime, the Council will adopt for a period of 12 months restrictive measures in the following fields, as specified in Council Decision 2012/739/CFSP: - Export and import restrictions with the exception of arms and related material and equipment which might be used for internal repression; - Restrictions on financing of certain enterprises; - Restrictions on infrastructure projects; - Restrictions of financial support for trade; - Financial sector; - Transport sector; - Restrictions on admission; - Freezing of funds and economic resources.

Syrian soldier greets UN monitors

photo: CC BY 2.0, Louai Beshara

2) With regard to the possible export of arms to Syria, the Council took note of the commitment by Member States to proceed in their national policies as follows: - the sale, supply, transfer or export of military equipment or of

equipment which might be used for internal repression will be for the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces and intended for the protection of civilians; - Member States shall require adequate safeguards against misuse of authorisations granted, in particular relevant information concerning the end-user and final destination of the delivery; - Member States shall assess the export licence applications on a case-by-case basis, taking full account of the criteria set out in Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment.

3) Member States will not proceed at this stage with the delivery of the equipment mentioned above. The Council will review its position before 1 August 2013 on the basis of a report by the High Representative, after having consulted the UN Secretary General, on the developments related to the US-Russia initiative and on the engagement of the Syrian parties.”

> Please see also the Council Conclusion on Syria: http://tinyurl.com/kmmect9

Source: Council of the European Union

The European Union

The challenge for the European defence industry i develop future capabilities and to be competitive a coordinated approach in order to steer the ongo tackle the fragmented nature of Europe’s defence

A lead in defence technology is difficult to develop and is The future of Europe’s defe

by Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission and

Europe is tackling the worst economic challenges it has faced for many years, which has adversely affected many sectors of our economy. Defence is not an exception. The current waves of cuts in national defence budgets will, and are already starting to, have an impact on our industry and the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). Does this really matter when Europe has so many other problems and priorities? Yes, because the defence sector is not just another industry. The EDTIB reflects Europe’s industrial capital of capacity, skills and new technologies with which we can ensure the security of our societies. The lack of investment in this capital will undermine Europe’s capacity to act autonomously and effectively within the context of the Common Security & Defence Policy (CSDP).

New threats require state-of-the-art technology The CSDP is about Europe cooperating to meet and overcome its security threats. The need for this is stronger than ever with new forms of terrorism, international piracy and regional

Antonio Tajani has been Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Industry and Entrepreneurship since 2010. He has a degree in law, was an officer in the Italian Air Force and also had a career in journalism. He was elected and re-elected to the European Parliament in 1994, 1999 and 2004. He went on to become a member of the Convention on the Future of Europe and of the Bureau of the Group of the European People’s Party. In 2002 he was appointed Vice-Chair of the European People’s Party, a position to which he was reelected several times. Before his current posting, he was Member of the Commission in charge of Transport from 2008 to 2010. Distinctions awarded to him include the Spanish Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit and the French Legion of Honour.

is to find a way of maintaining a strong industrial base able to e. This can only be achieved through European cooperation and oing change in Europe’s industrial landscape. The EU needs to market and Research & Technology.

s easily lost ence industry

d Michel Barnier, Member of the European Commission, Brussels

instability. The means to deal with these threats increasingly require state-of-the-art technology, such as in the areas of communications and surveillance, and the use of highly mobile and well equipped professional forces. None of this is cheap. Today Member States are drastically reducing investment in new research programmes. This puts Europe’s capability to produce the next generation of capacities in question and these will certainly be more expensive than the last. Between 2005 and 2010 there was a 14% decrease in RTD spending at EU level. The gap between US and European RTD spending has further increased, resulting in US spending being seven times larger. This will have important negative effects such as the closure of critical industrial capacities. They will be difficult to recover in the future. Facing the fall of orders at home, European industry is eyeing new emerging markets such as India and Brazil. The growth in exports has been such that their value is now close to, or has even overtaken, that of domestic procurement. This would be a major turning-point for the business models of Europe’s main defence companies resulting in moving overseas.

In danger of losing technological leadership In the absence of major new European defence and research programmes, we will face the erosion of the EDTIB in the next few years, including closures and moving production overseas, and the loss of Europe’s technological leadership in a number of critical areas. At the same time, we will see the emergence of radically new military technologies which will redefine the meaning of Europe’s strategic autonomy. But the defence industry does not only concern capacities we need for ensuring this autonomy. It is also a vital component of Europe’s industrial landscape. The industry, with a turnover

Michel Barnier has been Member of the European Commission responsible for Internal Market and Services since early 2010. His political career began in his late twenties, when he was elected as a Member of the French Parliament. In 1993 he was appointed Minister for the Environment and after that Minister for European Affairs (1995–1997). In 1999 Michael Barnier resigned from national office in order to join President Romano Prodi’s Commission, where he was responsible for regional policy and institutional reform. Back in Paris, he became Minister for Foreign Affairs (2004–2005) and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (2007–2009). In 2009 Michael Barnier led the French Presidential majority’s campaign in the European elections and was the head of the French Delegation of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

of € 94 billion, is a major industrial sector that generates innovation and is centred on high-end engineering and technologies. Its cutting-edge research has created important spillover effects in other sectors, such as electronics, space and civil aviation, and provides growth and thousands of highly skilled jobs. It is, therefore, a sector that is essential to retain if Europe is to remain a world-leading centre for manufacturing and innovation. The challenge is to find a way of maintaining a strong industrial base able to develop future capabilities at competitive prices. This can only be achieved through European cooperation and a coordinated approach steering the ongoing change in Europe’s industrial landscape.

What needs to be done We need to tackle the fragmented nature of Europe’s defence market and RTD. Europe can no longer afford the overcapacity and duplication inherent in having 27 national markets. Surely equipping our national armies with seven types of combat helicopter, four types of main battle tank and three types of

10 fighter aircraft is neither desirable nor sustainable: • Effective and seamless industrial cooperation If we cannot simply spend more, we need to spend what resources we have better and in a more unified way. It has long been recognised that Member States can no longer undertake significant military operations overseas on their own. European armies need to be able to cooperate effectively and seamlessly together. This cooperation, as far as possible and where practicable, should start with more joint research programmes and procurement. • Maintaining competitive industries We need a European industrial strategy based on increased mutual dependence that will let our Member States maintain competitive industries and provide value for money. Leaving restructuring only to market forces or to national initiatives means losing essential capabilities, skills and technologies. cooperation and specialisation between Member States is the only way to maintain and develop them.

The role of the European Commission The Commission has an important role to play and we are not starting from a blank sheet of paper. There is already a new legislative framework in place designed to support the competitiveness of the defence industry: • The basis is two important Directives This is based on two important Directives, on defence procurement and transfers of defence-related products, which were adopted in 2009 and have since been transposed in Member States. They are helping to better integrate the European defence market. This modern legislative framework should favour transnational consolidation and cooperation and allow the defence industry to achieve the economies of scale so essential to its global competitiveness. This is also the way to provide governments with the best value for money in their procurement. • Support SMEs in accessing markets across the EU However, in view of the severe nature of the challenges we need to do more. Through a more targeted use of existing tools, we can better support SMEs in accessing markets across the EU. We can move towards a more European approach to standards and certification thus facilitating cooperation and saving time and money. We can better integrate defence into the domain of other EU policies such as energy or regional policy. We can support research on technologies which can be used both in the civil and military world and, in the same vein, we can use EU-owned space capabilities, for example in the area of space surveillance tracking. Proposals in these and other areas will be set out in a Communication which is due to be adopted shortly.

The new Communication can open the way ahead The Communication will be a key Commission contribution to the planned debate on defence at the European Council in December. This is a valuable opportunity to put the challenges facing Europe’s defence industry on the agenda of Europe’s Heads of State. Our key message will be that it is only through collective action, based on a shared European vision of our security and capability needs, that we will find a way forward to meet future challenges and threats to our continent.

A lead in defence technology is difficult to develop and is easily lost. If the industry is to overcome difficult changes, it should be done with a common understanding of key capabilities that we need for our security, not only today but also in the future. Only then can defence continue to play a critical role in maintaining our strategic posture in the world and continue to create the technology and skilled jobs on which Europe’s industrial future depends.

Documentation

At the heart of the European Commission’s defence industrial policy is the “Defence Package” which includes two directives aiming to simplify the transfers of defence-related products within the EU and coordinate procedures for contract awards in the fields of defence and security. European defence industrial policy

Directive 2009/81/EC on defence and sensitive security procurement This Directive introduces at European level fair and transparent rules to help companies access defence and security markets in other EU countries, as well as flexibility for contracting authorities to negotiate in detail all features of complex contracts. It introduces the option for contracting authorities to require safeguards (from suppliers) to ensure the protection of classified information against unauthorised access, and security of supply so that armed forces receive deliveries in time, particularly in times of crisis or armed conflict. > For the Document: http://tinyurl.com/7rlst9p

Directive 2009/43/EC on intra-EU transfers of defence products This Directive encourages Member States to replace, as far as possible, their existing individual licences with general licences for those intra-Community transfers where the unauthorised risk of re-exportation to third countries is strictly controlled, such as purchases by armed forces of other EU Member States and transfers to certified companies of components in the context of industrial cooperation. > For the document: http://tinyurl.com/mghrrb8 > More information can be found on the Commission website: http://tinyurl.com/mrq4368