Benchmarks

In November 2007 the Ministerial Steering Board approved four collective benchmarks for investment:

Equipment procurement (including R&D/R&T): 20% of total defence spending
European collaborative equipment procurement: 35% of total equipment spending
Defence Research & Technology: 2% of total defence spending
European collaborative Defence R&T: 20% of total defence R&T spending

These benchmarks are collective: they apply to the total sum spent by all participating Member States together. They are voluntary in the sense turning them into national targets is optional. There are no timelines for realising these benchmarks.

The indicators showing the evolution towards these collective benchmarks can be found on the last pages of the Defence Data files in the right side column "Consolidated Data". The most updated figures can be found in "Defence Data 2010".