They agreed in outline the sort of Defence Technological and Industrial Base which the European Union should have and a set of actions to help identify the key technologies and core industrial capabilities which Europe should aim to sustain and develop.

"It is clear that current trends risk weakening, not strengthening, Europe's DTIB," said Eero Lavonen, who chaired the meeting on behalf of the Head of the Agency, Javier Solana. The Steering Board is the Agency's principal decision-making body on which the 24 participating member states and the European Commission are represented.

"That is why it is so important that the EDA and its Member States should, for the first time, address this issue head on and agree some practical steps, building on the reforms we have already agreed to inject more competition into defence procurement," Lavonen added.

The Agency plans to consult with industry through the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) on the main challenges and opportunities for the EDTIB and which technologies deserve particular priority; it will also work with Member States who are drawing up short-lists of key technologies on a national basis to see if this could be done on a European level; and it will continue work on the critical area of a European Defence R and T Strategy.

The Steering Board also reviewed the workings of the new European defence equipment market, launched on 1 July and operating under the European Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement.

The Board agreed important new elements to support the new market, by enhancing security of supply and security of information across national borders. Member States subscribing to the regime have now committed themselves to try to meet requests from another Member State for goods and services during an emergency, crisis or armed conflict, including from their own stocks if necessary. They also agreed rules governing the security of classified information relating to defence procurement.

These are important steps towards ensuring that governments can buy from defence suppliers across Europe, on the basis of fair competition, with full confidence.

The meeting also considered an Agency report on various national initiatives to upgrade the equipment of the individual soldier or "21st century Warrior", with a particular focus on technology to improve communication, protection and firepower. It found that the programmes had limited commonality and that interoperability - an important factor in multinational operations -- remained a major challenge.

The Agency was asked to define to what degree these new systems should be interoperable, identify possible areas for cooperation on sub-systems which the programmes have in common, and to work on military requirements for the next generation of systems beyond 2015.

"The 21st Century Warrior programmes illustrate once again that fragmented national efforts can cause operational problems as well as economic inefficiencies," said EDA Chief Executive Nick Witney.

"If we are to sustain the Defence Technological and Industrial Base in Europe which everyone would like to see, we are going to have to build on the excellent first step of the Code of Conduct to ensure that, more and more, we plan, develop and procure defence equipment together," he added.

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com