New ways for procurement, development and production of defence capabilities

The Ukraine War has seriously added relevance to questions about effective ways to better arrange defence procurement and the defence industry. This is especially true in the EU where the traditional focus on national industry has led to scattered production and costly manufacturing lines.
Join us for a discussion on a draft Eurodefense recommendation to the European Commission on advanced ideas how to plan ahead for a European defence industrial base (EDTIB) that is up to the task of developing and equipping the armed forces of the member states. 

The meeting will be in hybrid format from 14:00 until 16:00 on Friday 27 October 2023
Please follow this link if you would like to participate online
if you would like to participate in person, register using the button (above right) on this page.

During the discussion three topics will be addressed by three speakers. Three topics relevant for government contracting of defence capabilities, for research and development by industry as well as production. The topics are different sides of the issue to achieve more effective capabilities and less scattered industry in Europe. The results of the discussion will be used for recommendations of the Eurodefense network to the European Commission.

14:00 Opening and introduction
(by Jan Wind - president KIVI Defence and Security / president Eurodefense Netherlands) 

14:15. Buy European
(by Jean Charles Boulat – Eurodefense France)
To achieve and maintain European strategic independence and sufficient capacity in the European industry it is necessary that governments select European products for their forces. Which aspects are relevant and where should policies change?

14:45. Industrial cooperation
(by Bart Escher – KIVI Defence and Security)
Current policies on compensation requirements, offset and juste retour cause short term economic advantages for member States, but lead in the longer term to inefficiencies, additional cost  and suboptimal technologies. Other means should be introduced to create a more effective European defence industry.

15:15. Community procurement
(by Marc Essig – Eurodefense France)
European cooperation used to be a topic between Member States to commonly procure or share capabilities. The European Commission is a new player in defence procurement and could one day be owner of defence capabilities. For which type of technologies and capabilities could community ownership be effective and how could this be achieved.

15:45 Wrap-up
(by Jan Wind - president Eurodefense Netherlands) 

16:00 Reception for in-person participants at the Royal Society of Engineers (KIVI) in The Hague.

Picture: CC0 Wikimedia