European defence agency and its role in the development of the European Union defence industry

Procurement of modern and efficient weapons is one of the most important parts of any state defence and security policy that can be achieved by import of weapons or their production on the state territory. The European Union has one of the most advanced defence industries, therefore it is necessary to work on its development to maintain its positions. For this purposes government support for the defence industry is crucial. Development of the defence industry has an important role in the European Union policy, therefore many related programs are implemented and the corresponding authorities are established. In this case the European Defence Agency (EDA) plays one of the major roles. The EDA is an agency of the European Union that promotes and facilitates integration between member states within the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy. The EDA is headed by the High Representative, and reports to the Council. The EDA was established on 12 July 2004. During its activity the EDA has started and implemented a number of different programs and not all of them have become successful. The EDA initiatives are mainly focused on coordination between member states Armed Forces and also on development and production of advanced weapons to contribute to the European Union defence capabilities. For example the EDA launched the following programs: Pooling&Sharing, Air-to-air refueling, Remotely Piloted aircraft systems, Code of Conduct on Offsets, The European Union Contractor Support to Operations and etc. The role of the agency become more important since 2017, when major programs including Capability Development Plan, Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, Permanent Structured Cooperation, European Defence Fund, Long Term Review were launched. All these programs are focused on the development of the European Union defence industry and further integration of the European Union in the sphere of defence and security. The author concludes that the efforts made by the EDA should contribute to the development of the European Union Defence industry in future. The comprehensive approach of the EDA that integrates activities in different spheres of defence and security of the European Union should facilitate the goals of further defence integration of the European Union. However the achievement of this goal that will also strengthen position of the European Union defence industry is highly dependent on the willingness of the member states to shift the focus from domestic defence industry to the integrated defence industry of the European Union.

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