During the latest session of the European Parliament’s Defence and Security subcommittee on 9 October, MEPs showed strong support for the European Defence Agency and its Pooling & Sharing initiative. Introducing EDA’s Chief Executive Claude-France Arnould, Arnaud Danjean the subcommittee’s chairman says, ”Pooling & Sharing is at the top of our list of priorities when it comes to defence.”
In her presentation, Claude-France Arnould stressed that the EDA worked only on the capabilities the Member States set priorities in. Successful examples like the Agency’s air-to-air refuelling initiative, field hospital project or multinational helicopter training exercises have been put forward and are led by Member States. The Chief Executive confirmed, “EDA works at the service of Member States. We provide à la carte support where needed.”
The Agency invests particular efforts to avoid duplication with NATO. The EDA has recently also signed an agreement with Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) facilitating closer cooperation between these two bodies. Under the arrangement, EDA and OCCAR will share information on projects and programmes throughout their lifecycle, helping to guarantee a seamless handover in each case, with both parties remaining involved and informed at every stage.
The subcommittee received in the same session Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, European External Action Service (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General Maciej Popowski as well as Eric Huybrechts, Deputy Director of OCCAR-EA.
Further information:
Video of the subcommittee’s session
Press release of the European Parliament