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How to Become a Leader?

As part of the upcoming revision of the EU’s Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS, adopted in 2014) and its action plan (2018), the European Commission, together with the European External Action Service and the European Defence Agency, have just launched a public consultation to gather ideas, suggestions and proposals from maritime security experts and the general public on how to further improve the EU’s policy in this important domain. The review will also have a ‘security and defence’ focus since one of the objectives is to align the EUMSS with the recently adopted EU Strategic Compass for Security and Defence.

 

To that end, a dedicated e-survey has just been launched to obtain the opinions of the general public, including experts in maritime security, academia and research, international bodies and organisations, on the challenges and possible responses to them. The link will be open until 8 September 2022. People or organisations interested in participating in the consultation will be asked to register. The questionnaire is available in all 24 EU languages, and replies may also be given in any of those languages. A factual summary report will be published on the consultation page 8 weeks after the public consultation is closed. Member States are being consulted through the Council Working Party and through the Member States Expert Group on maritime security and surveillance.

Background

A safe and secure maritime space is a prerequisite for preserving the EU’s freedom of navigation, external border control and the supply of essential materials. It is also crucial for protecting economic activities and citizens, both at sea and on shore. The EUMSS and its revised action plan are the framework in which the EU addresses current and future internal and external maritime security challenges. Capability development and defence research & innovation are identified in the EUMSS as important aspects to strengthen maritime security, both at national level and through collaborative projects, including at the European Defence Agency.

As requested by the European Council in June 2021, the EUMSS and the action plan - even though remaining valid - will now have to be aligned with other EU policies and instruments, including the Strategic Compass, to even better address the increasing maritime security challenges Europe is facing.

More information:

• Update of the EU maritime security strategy and its action plan

How to use and improve Additive Manufacturing (AM, commonly known as 3D-printing) for enhanced circularity in defence applications? To identify priorities for future collaborative triple helix projects in this domain, 50 experts from 13 European countries met on 21 June in Taranto (Italy) for a workshop organised under EDA’s “Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence” (IF CEED) and Materials CapTech.

The event was the first activity of IF CEED’s “Circular Additive Manufacturing” project circle. The meeting, hosted by the Arsenale Militare of the Italian Navy in Taranto, allowed participants from Ministries of Defence, industry, research and technology organisations as well as academia to exchange views on how AM can best help to reduce the military’s environmental footprint by promoting increased circularity of materials, optimisation of processes and the implementation of AM deployable solutions. Health and safety issues, as well as the quality of input data for Life Cycle Assessment were also addressed.

The EU’s wider research and innovation agenda was duly taken into account through to the participation of the European Commission’s DG RTD.

Several concrete proposals for future projects were identified during the meeting; they will be refined during the project circle’s next meetings. These project ideas confirm that innovation in technologies and logistics can contribute to improving the Armed Forces’ environmental impact as well as their operational efficiency. 

AM technologies are expected to enhance defence capabilities and have a strong potential for improved circularity: efficient use of resources, increased reusability, repairability and remanufacturing of products, as well as specific advantages for the logistics of spare parts.

Participants with the FREMM Frigate ITS Carabiniere in the background

More info:

EDA’s IF CEED website

EDA Materials CapTech

TV coverage in Italian (Resoconto in italiano) 

 

 

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on 30 June 2022.

The meeting agenda and documents will be published here.

SEDE missions:

• SEDE mission to Iraq from 24-28 May 2022

• SEDE mission to Georgia from 10-14 April 2022

SEDE meetings' calendar - first half of 2022
SEDE meetings' calendar - second half of 2022
EP calendar 2022 revised
Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

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EDA’s Steering Board met yesterday at Member States Capability Directors’ level under the chairmanship of General Éric Bellot des Minières. Directors decided to launch the revision of the Capability Development Plan (CDP), the latest version of which dates to June 2018. The CDP contains the jointly agreed European capability development priorities (currently 11) which are updated on a regular basis under EDA’s auspices, in close coordination with the EU Military Committee and the EU Military Staff. 

 

The revision is scheduled to be completed by 2023 when the revised set of EU Capability Development Priorities is set to be agreed by EDA’s Steering Board. It will then serve as a reference for the third Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) cycle which will start in autumn 2023. 

The need to revise the CDP now stems not only from the new guidelines provided by recently adopted EU Strategic Compass, but also from a series of significant and strategic changes witnessed in the EU’s overall security environment, first and foremost the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. All those developments have implications on the four strands which will nurture the new CDP: two short-term based strands provided by the EU Military Committee with the support of the EU Military Staff (capability gaps identified in CSDP missions and operations, as well as lessons learned), a mid-term strand (assessment of the potential for cooperation, based among others on the latest CARD findings and Member States’ current defence plans and acquisition programmes) and a long-term strand (looking ahead at expected capability trends and development by 2040 and beyond). 

Strategic Compass, CARD

Capability Directors also assessed the state of implementation of the Strategic Compass which has seen its first measures implemented on the ground, with the establishment of the Hub for EU Defence Innovation (HEDI) within EDA, and the first European Defence Innovation Day organised end of May.  

Directors were also briefed on the (still ongoing) second CARD cycle which is set to be completed by the Agency’s final report to Ministers in November of this year.  

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