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Latvia : More effective ways of European defence industry cooperation discussed in Riga
Publish Date : 13-Mar-2015
On March 9-10, the European Defence Agency National Armaments Directors discussed the ways to enhance the European defence and security capabilities to prepare for the June 2015 European Council discussion on defence. The National Armaments Directors discussed how to promote cooperation of the European countries in the area of joint procurement, project planning and implementation, support for the European Defence Agency (EDA) capability programs and strengthen the European defence industry.
The National Armaments Directors concluded that the involvement of small and medium sized enterprises in supply chains is beneficial for the European economy and long-term defence capabilities and should be enhanced. Evaluating the current security challenges, the Member States agreed that cooperation is paramount; therefore, it is crucial to strengthen the cooperation with partners, such as NATO and the U.S.
“This is a significant forum because it tackles the European capabilities at their core and allows our countries to cooperate in the area of procurement, armaments and assistance to our defence industries,” stressed Raimonds V jonis, the Minister for Defence of the Republic of Latvia, welcoming the participants of the meeting.
“In the light of recent developments in the European security architecture, cooperation within the EU and our partners is essential, therefore the back-to-back event with NATO and the U.S. gave an opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest and standardization, government to government sales and the Single European Sky,” said the Minister regarding this event. that took place during the informal meeting and was hosted by the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
”EDA’s role is to support the Member States in their efforts to develop capabilities. In light of new security challenges paired with budgetary constraints, the case for cooperation becomes ever more compelling. The meeting of the National Armaments Directors in Riga was an important opportunity towards the preparation of the European Council discussion on defence in June since they are responsible for delivering the capabilities our armed forces need today and in the future,” said Jorge Domecq, the Chief Executive of the EDA after the meeting.
During the meeting the Latvian defence industry products were on display for participants of the meeting. The display included products ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles and shipbuilding to cans, password replacement solutions and machine translation.
On March 9-10, the EDA National Armaments Directors informal meeting and the back-to-back event with NATO and the U.S. took place at the National Library of Latvia to discuss the contributions that the armaments directors’ community can make to enhance the transatlantic defence capabilities. They discussed the issue of better common standardization, such procurement issues as government to government sales and other issues of common interest.
