Commission: joint procurement of military equipment to counter Russia

The The EU’s politically independent executive arm. It is responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, and it implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council. European Commission and the The High Representative is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the EU foreign affairs policy. The position is currently held by Josep Borrell. High Representative Josep Borrell presented their plans to improve the EU’s defence standing on Wednesday, 18 May, in light of the war waging in Ukraine. Their plans focus on The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States making joint investments to procure military equipment, on supporting the industry through more money to be put into the European Defence Fund (EDF), and on strategic defence programming.

Commission President von der Leyen highlighted the importance of the EU’s defence cooperation, also for NATO:

“The European Union is stepping up its effort to build a stronger European defence industry.  We need to spend more on defence, and we need to do it in a coordinated way. Today we are proposing concrete measures to strengthen our defence capabilities and the military technological edge of our European industrial base, based on an analysis of the defence investment gaps. This action will ensure a more effective European contribution in NATO.”

With the help of the analysis of the European Defence Agency, the Commission and the The High Representative is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the EU foreign affairs policy. The position is currently held by Josep Borrell. High Representative highlighted three major gaps in the EU’s defence landscapes:

1.  Defence expenditure has significantly increased in the The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but this comes after years of cuts in defence budgets. The joint communication highlights the need to coordinate defence spending among The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States to make it effective and avoid fragmentation along national borders.

2.  There are significant gaps in the defence industry which is structured along national borders and in many cases, equipment is not harmonized.

3.  Capability gaps need to be tackled by filling up the stock of needed equipment, replacing outdated Soviet systems and reinforcing air and missile defence systems.  

Measures

A Defence Joint Procurement Task Force will be established immediately to help The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States coordinate their procurement in response to the Russian war in Ukraine. This will also ensure that The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States do not compete for placing orders, thereby driving the prices up. The Commission has offered an additional €500 million of EU budget to be used over the next two years to foster joint procurement.

In a second related step, the Commission proposes a short-term EU instrument for joint procurement to help The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States address capability gaps together and in a coordinated way.

Eventually, in a third step, this short-term instrument shall be transformed into a full framework for defence joint procurement. The Commission is expected to propose a European Defence Investment Programme regulation to this end in autumn this year. This will enable The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States to work together in procuring equipment and therefore upping the EU’s defence capabilities.

Beyond that, the Commission and European Defence Agency will map the EU’s industrial manufacturing capabilities and identify shortages to be addressed. They will also consider increasing the budgets of the EDF and military mobility, among other things (find more info here).

The An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council‘s role

The EU’s heads of state and government in a meeting on 11 March 2022 asked the Commission to carry out an analysis of the EU’s standing in terms of defence. In this meeting, they also agreed on the need to step up the EU’s defence capabilities by

–        increasing defence expenditures,

–        cooperating more in joint projects,

–        addressing shortfalls and fulfilling capability objectives

–        boosting innovation

–        strengthening and further developing the EU defence industry.

The Commission’s proposals for more investments and a joint procurement instrument are therefore not new to The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States’ discussions and should in theory not be met with a lot of opposition.

The Commission’s analysis serves as a supplementary piece to the Strategic Compass, which was adopted by the An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council and endorsed by the European An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council in March 2022 and guides the EU’s defence development.