EU is arguing over a €150 billion defense procurement program - Euractiv
Kyiv • UNN
EU countries cannot agree on a "Buy European" position in the joint defense procurement program. Industry insists on prioritizing European manufacturers, with an exception for Great Britain.
EU member states still cannot agree on what the "Buy European" position means in the EU's €150 billion joint defence procurement programme (SAFE). However, industry has no doubts. This is reported by Euractiv, writes UNN.
Details
The latest compromise text on the programme, drafted by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU and presented on Wednesday, attempted to draw a line on what joint procurement of equipment means.
It stated that foreign plants can apply to join the programme if their country has both a defence agreement and a trade agreement on the defence industry with the EU.
But there are also conditions: a designated place of production must be identified, a minimum proportion of components must be manufactured in the EU, and the proportion of components from third countries must be indicated.
Some EU member states say the latest text is too restrictive and want more openness to third countries. So far, the UK, Turkey and South Korea are among those being considered for potential participation.
In addition to these rules, Greece and the Netherlands are leading the call to restrict the accession of third countries that do not respect the rule of law, two people said, and to ban purchases from their industries.
Industry proposals
While countries are arguing about the rules, European defence giants are making it clear to Brussels: Europe first, with one exception.
In a position paper seen by Euractiv, major European companies such as Airbus, Saab and MBDA, operating through the European Security and Defence Industry Association (ASD) lobby, want to keep European money on the continent. ASD argues that EU manufacturers are already building up capacity and should be prioritised, especially now that foreign stocks are running out.
Preferences for Europe, it said, should be particularly strict when it comes to "missiles, critical infrastructure protection and cyberspace", which should be categorised as complex equipment. Currently, the European Commission and Council texts classify them as non-complex equipment.
If any third country industry should be given access to the programme, it should be the UK, the article says. Several EU manufacturers have subsidiaries in the UK, such as MBDA or Leonardo, or use components manufactured in the UK. For industry, the fact that London is negotiating the signing of a defence pact could be good news.
EU member states continue to negotiate the text and adoption is still scheduled for 13 May.
