European Defence Action Plan

SUMMARY OF:

Communication (COM(2016) 950 final) – European Defence Action Plan

Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?

The communication aims to:
- improve the efficiency of spending on the defence capabilities of European Union (EU) countries;
- pool resources to improve the security of EU citizens;
- create a more competitive and innovative industrial base in the defence sector.
Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union sets out the workings of the EU’s common security and defence policy. It covers a range of aspects ranging from decision-making and the role of the European Defence Agency to the EU’s mutual assistance clause.

KEY POINTS

The Action Plan is broken down into 3 strands:

1.
Establishing the European Defence Fund, with 2 financing structures:
- Research: a total of €90 million until 2020, followed by €500 million per year post-2020 to fund collaborative research in innovative defence technologies (e.g. electronics, encrypted software or robotics).
- Capabilities: approximately € 5 billion per year (refinement from the European Commission pending) to allow EU countries to purchase certain assets (e.g. drone technologies or helicopters) together, to reduce costs. These capabilities would be decided on and owned by EU countries.
- Priorities for the Defence Fund are to be set by a Coordination Board consisting of EU countries, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Defence Agency, the Commission and key industry players.
2.

Promoting investment in the defence supply chain: the Commission will support European Investment Bank efforts to improve access to funding for the defence supply chain, the core of which is made up largely of small- and medium-sized businesses. Furthermore, under the Blueprint for Sectorial Co-operation on Skills, the Commission will support cooperation in the defence sector to ensure people have the right skills to generate innovation.
3.

Strengthening the EU Single Market for defence: to help tackle fragmentation and ensure higher competitiveness in the defence industry, the Commission will take steps to improve EU-wide competition for defence procurement contracts. Companies would be able to operate across borders more easily while EU countries would receive the best value for money. To achieve this, the Commission proposes improving the implementation of the Procurement Directive and the Transfers Directive.

Other key points:

The Action Plan is not about creating an EU army, but rather about creating the conditions for more defence cooperation, to improve the efficiency of defence spending, and to create the conditions for a strong, competitive and innovative defence industrial base.
The Action Plan comes under the EU's common security and defence policy, an integral part of the common foreign and security policy.

BACKGROUND

Collectively, EU countries make up the second largest share of global military expenditures (after the US). However, most defence procurement is on a national level, and problems such as duplication, a lack of interoperability and technological gaps continue to hamper the efficiency of the EU’s military capabilities.
As non-EU countries increase their military expenditures, EU countries on average are decreasing theirs.
For more information, see:

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: European Defence Action Plan (COM(2016) 950 final, 30.11.2016)

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union — Title V - General provisions on the Union’s external action and specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy — Chapter 2 — Specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy — Section 2 — Provision on the common security and defence policy — Article 42 (ex Article 17 TEU) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 38-39)

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