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 EDA Member States together. They are voluntary: turning them into national targets is optional. There are no timelines for realising these benchmarks.
Indicators showing the evolution towards these collective benchmarks can be found in the last pages of the annual Defence Data booklet.