6.3. The European Defence Agency (Jiří Šedivý

6.3. THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY (EDA)

by Jiří Šedivý

The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established under the Joint Action of the Council of 12 July 2004 “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 – now Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) – as it stands now and develops in the future”. To implement the Treaty of Lisbon, this Joint Action was replaced by a Council Decision on 12 July 2011, which was then revised by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 of 12 October 2015 on the statute, seat and operational rules of the EDA.

STRUCTURE AND MANDATE

The Head of the Agency, who chairs the EDA’s Steering Board, is also the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as well as Vice-President of the European Commission (currently Josep Borrell). The EDA Chief Executive (Jiří Šedivý, as of April 2020) is appointed by the Steering Board. In addition to the Defence Ministers’ meetings, which are held at least twice a year, the Steering Board also meets at the level of national armaments directors, R&T directors and capabilities directors.

The EDA’s staff is composed of experts in capability development, research and technology, armament cooperation and industrial matters; it combines bottom-up expert level initiatives (the EDA connects around 2 500 nationally based experts) and top-down political direction. The Agency is organised into three operational directorates: Industry Synergies & Enablers (ISE), Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP) and Research, Technology & Innovation (RTI). It also has a Corporate Services directorate which ensures the smooth and efficient functioning of the Agency.

The EDA acts as a catalyst, promotes collaborations, launches new initiatives and introduces solutions to improve defence capabilities.

It is the place where Member States willing to develop capabilities in cooperation do so.

It is also a key facilitator in developing the capabilities necessary to underpin the Union´s Common Security and Defence Policy. The main tasks of the EDA are to • support the development of defence capabilities and military cooperation among Member States; • support the implementation of the EU defence initiatives: Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), European Defence Fund (EDF); • stimulate defence research and technology (R&T); • strengthen the European defence industry; • act as a military interface to EU policies; • provide support to CSDP operations.

In 2017, Ministers agreed to reinforce the Agency’s mission, making it • the main intergovernmental prioritisation instrument at EU level in support of capability development;

European Defence Agency

Jiří Šedivý is the Chief Executive of the European Defece Agency (EDA) since May 2020. He was appointed by the Steering Board on 5 March 2020 following a recommendation by the Head of the Agency, Josep Borrell.

• the preferred cooperation forum and management support structure at EU level for Member

States to engage in technology and capability development activities; • the facilitator towards the European Commission and EU Agencies to exploit wider EU policies to the benefit of defence; • a central operator with regard to EU funded defence-related activities.

The EDA works "à la carte", from a minimum of two EU Member States to all (except Denmark), and also works with partners such as Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine (the third countries which have concluded an administrative arrangement with the EDA). Depending on their strategic priorities, their operational requirements or their interest in a specific project, Member States decide themselves when and to what extent they wish to participate in the Agency’s projects, programmes and activities.

The EDA has around 170 staff, working closely with expert counterparts in Member States, industry, EU institutions – notably the European Commission – and other multinational organisations and entities, such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR). The EDA functions with a relatively small annual budget (currently just over EUR 36 million) sourced directly from the Ministries of Defence, which nevertheless, combined with its in-house expertise, enables it to act as a powerful lever: projects and programmes launched and managed by the EDA generate several hundred million euros worth of ad hoc investments. Since the creation of the Agency in 2004, approximately 1 billion euros has been invested in defence research and programmes through the EDA.

The EDA provides a platform where Member States keen to enhance and develop their defence capabilities through cooperation with other Member States can do so. The Agency thereby helps to develop European military capabilities, adopting a through-life approach: from harmonising requirements to the delivery of capabilities, from research and innovation to the development of technology demonstrators, and from training and

European Defence Agency/Black Blade 2016

The EDA provides a platform where Member States keen to enhance and develop their defence capabilities through cooperation with other Member States can do so.

exercises to maintenance, support and operations. In this respect, the capabilities developed through the EDA can be used in EU CSDP and NATO operations as well as in other multinational or national engagements.

The EDA also acts as a facilitator between Member States’ military stakeholders and wider EU policies. The Agency represents and defends military views and interests in the process of shaping and implementing EU policies while at the same time offering a platform for the European Commission and other EU bodies to hold a dialogue with the Ministries of Defence. It can also facilitate the access of Ministries of Defence and the defence industry, notably SMEs, to EU instruments and tools, including EU funding.

The Agency plays prominent roles in the various EU defence initiatives launched over the past years. For instance, it acts as the PESCO secretariat (together with the European External Action Service, including the EU Military Staff) and serves as a platform where PESCO participating Member States can identify, assess and consolidate possible projects – guaranteeing focus on capability priorities and avoidance of unnecessary duplication with existing initiatives. The EDA also acts as the CARD secretariat, together with the EU Military Staff (EUMS), where it is responsible for gathering information from Member States on defence plans, including spending.

SUPPORT FOR CSDP OPERATIONS

The Agency offers a variety of services to Member States, military and civilian CSDP missions/ operations as well as other EU bodies, institutions and agencies. This has already been the case for CSDP military operations in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA and EUTM RCA), the Mediterranean Sea (EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia), Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR Althea), Mali (EUTM Mali), Somalia (EUTM Somalia and EUNAVFOR Atalanta).

The EDA is also collaborating with CSDP civilian missions in Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali), Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger), Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine), Georgia (EUMM Georgia), Somalia (EUCAP Somalia), Iraq (EUAM Iraq) and Libya (EUBAM Libya). Most recently, the EDA started working with the newly established Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC).

The EDA’s support is hereby twofold: it offers access to existing projects as well as contracted support solutions.

On the project side this has so far included cyber awareness seminars, maritime surveillance, personnel management as well as management of geospatial information. As an example, EDA’s ‘GeohuB’, a software tool for safe sharing of geospatial information, was deployed to EUNAVFOR MED in Rome (HQ).

Contracted support extends from satellite communications or air-to-ground surveillance to wider logistics support. In 2019, the EDA concluded multiple framework contracts for the provision of air medical evacuation services to missions. The aim is clear: providing support that is cost-effective and efficient. The EDA sees itself as an intermediary body that facilitates the establishment and running of any EU mission/ operation in every possible way with a view to achieving civil-military synergies in the CSDP framework.

The Agency does this in full cooperation with a number of actors supporting CSDP operations and missions in the EEAS, in particular the Chairman of the EU Military Committee, the EU Military Staff, the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability, EU SatCen, the Athena Mechanism and the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments.

Publication: EDA Annual Report 2019 https://www.eda.europa.eu/info-hub/publications

Support to CSDP Operations

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information on the EDA’s activities, see: www.eda.europa.eu

Publication: Support to CSDP Operations https://www.eda.europa.eu/docs/defaultsource/eda-publications/eda-operation-supportbrochure_final