Strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) in the short and medium term is imperative to reinforce the deterrence and defence capabilities of Member States.
With EDIRPA and EDIP, the policy debate on how to strengthen the EDTIB has focused on the common procurement of defence products. However, it is often neglected that the way in which common procurement is done matters as much as the act itself. Indeed, current EU initiatives such as EDIRPA do not entirely address this issue.
Additionally, EDIP has the potential to be more ambitious; covering and structuring more aspects of cooperative defence acquisition programs, not just common procurement.
C&V Consulting believes that EDIP should address both the common acquisition of defence products and the modalities in which these projects are done; with the objective of overcoming the chronic limitations of cooperative capability projects in Europe.
C&V Consulting proposes a vision for EDIP that draws from the experience and lessons learned from the European Defence Fund (EDF) and expands the scope of EDIP from simple common procurement to common acquisitions.
C&V Consulting’s vision is built on 4 Key Principles (and their ensuing recommendations):
- EDIP should contribute directly to the EU’s strategic autonomy;
- Suppliers across the EU should be able to participate in common acquisition projects on a more level-playing-field;
- EDIP must provide strong financial incentives and use them strategically;
- There needs to be more comprehensive and coherent EU defence capability and industrial planning and coordination.
C&V Consulting’s vision for EDIP is proposed in two parts (a duology):
(1) EDIP: Rebuilding European Defence by Strengthening our Industry synthetizes the main ideas that C&V Consulting proposes for EDIP, their rationales and the recommendations that emanate from these ideas.
(2) A Practical Vision for EDIP proposes a concrete description of how all the ideas presented in the first part can be articulated, in practice, into a coherent whole.
C&V Consulting does not claim to have the only possible view of EDIP, but it does offers coherent one with which to start the debate on what could be the most ambitious EU defence industrial policy to date.
Contact us to know more: contact@cnv-consulting.eu