DEFENCE: COMPETITION CODE AND ARMOURED VEHICLES UP FOR MINISTERIAL DISCUSSION.

Procurement.

European governments' defence contracts are still usually awarded to national suppliers. For military equipment such as guns and vehicles, Article 296 of the EU Treaty provides for an exemption to the usual EU competition rules on grounds of national security. Mr Witney said on May 19 that a voluntary code was under discussion among EU member states that would envisage opening up defence procurement on a non-binding basis to bidders from all over the EU. The aim, he said, was to agree the move by the end of the year. And the May 23 meeting would be a chance for ministers to put their weight behind the proposal.

The Agency Chief Executive maintained that it was realistic to think that such a voluntary code could have an impact. The economic logic for greater cooperation appears to exist as countries' defence budgets are squeezed, and Mr Witney observed that a voluntary regime would be a far quicker way to proceed than spending years trying to adopt an EU Directive. There would prospectively also be peer pressure on member states to report to the EDA on any exemptions made. Mr Witney is also looking to gather data from member states in the coming months to get a clearer picture of just how many contracts are issued under the Article 296 exemption.

Vehicles.

Scope for boosting EU collaboration on Armoured Fighting Vehicles - vehicles somewhere between battle tanks and 4x4s - is also expected to be discussed on May 23. Mr Witney pointed out that the sector was not the biggest but could be seen as a test case for European defence cooperation. As with procurement, it is evidently an area where there could be room for more cross-border cooperation within the EU. There are currently 23 different AFV national procurement programmes...