Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement
The European Defence Agency (EDA)’s participating Member States have agreed on the need for decisive progress towards creation of an internationally competitive European Defence Equipment Market, as a key means to strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base.
A significant proportion of their defence procurement takes place outside EU internal market rules, on the basis of Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). EDA’s participating Member States have therefore decided, without prejudice to their rights and obligations under the Treaties, to establish a voluntary, non-binding intergovernmental regime aimed at encouraging application of competition in this particular segment of Defence procurement, on a reciprocal basis between those subscribing to the regime. The Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement (CoC) is an integral part of the Intergovernmental Regime to encourage competition in defence procurement.
The Code was approved by Defence Ministers on 21 November 2005 and launched on 1 July 2006 with the participation at that time of 22 of the 24 participating Member States of the Agency (today with the participation of 25 out of 26 participating Member States and Norway). It is working in parallel and in complementarity with the Code of Best Practice in the Supply Chain (CoBPSC). The Electronic Bulletin Board (EBB) - Government Contracts, also launched on 1 July 2006, is a key element of the defence procurement regime and provides an historic opportunity for suppliers across Europe to bid for defence contracts advertised by subscribing Member States.
The Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement (CoC) is underpinned by a robust reporting and monitoring system. This helps ensure that the principles of mutual transparency and mutual accountability among subscribing Member States are being maintained in order to gain the confidence that the regime is working as intended.
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