Investment for defence research



The economic crisis caused defence budgets to drop sharply as did investment in related research and development. Parliament sees collaborative research projects as a solution. The EU budget could be used to support EU countries working together. To maximise the output and the efficiency of defence spending, the European Commission came up with the European Defence Action Plan and the European Defence Fund in November 2016. MEPs have welcomed these initiatives as good ways for the EU to add value and support the financing of measures commonly agreed by member states.



Improving cooperation



Parliament has been keen to make the most of the legal possibilities offered by the Treaty of Lisbon. MEPs concluded in a resolution on the EU's common security and defence policy adopted in March that the tools are in place but that political will is needed to increase defence cooperation in the EU. Parliament would like to reinforce the status and the funding of the European Defence Agency (EDA), make full use of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PeSCo) and make the EU Battlegroup system a part of it.



Another weak point that Parliament would like to address is the plethora of different weapon systems in the EU, making it more difficult for countries to work together. MEPs have suggested that defence ministers could meet in a separate Council formation to better synchronise their planning and carry out a Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD).