European Defence Agency

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European Defence Agency Seat Brussels, Belgium Signed Established July 2004 Pillar Common Foreign and Security Policy Director Alexander Weis Budget €30 million (2009)[1] Website eda.europa.eu

The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an agency of the European Union based in Brussels. It is a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) body set up on 12 July 2004, reporting to the Council of the European Union. All EU member states, except Denmark which has an opt-out of the CFSP pillar, take part in the agency.^[2] Norway, which is not an EU member, has been granted an opt-in to participate in the EDA programmes without voting rights.^{[citation needed]}

Tasks

The Council established the EDA "to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future”. Within that overall mission are four functions^[3];

• Development of defence capabilities in the field of crisis management.
• Promotion and enhancement of European armaments cooperation.
• Working to strengthen the Defence Technology and Industrial Base and for the creation of an internationally competitive European Defence Equipment Market.
• Enhancement of the effectiveness of European Defence Research and Technology.

Structure

Javier Solana is the head of EDA

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The body has a legal personality and is governed primarily by three elements^[4].

• Head of the Agency: Responsible for overall organisation and functioning, ensures implementation of guidelines and decisions, chairs ministerial meetings of Steering Board. Currently, Javier Solana (also CFSP High Representative) appointed at the agency's foundation (July 12 2004)
• Steering Board: The agency's decision making body, composed of the defence ministers of participating Member States together with a representative of the European Commission and led by the Head of the Agency^[3].
• Chief Executive: Head of staff and responsible for supervision and co-ordination of units. Currently Alexander Weis^[5].

As of 2009, EDA has a staff of around 109.

Budget

The budget and expenditure of the EDA is given in the table below^[6].

.

Membership and Funding Mechanism

All EU member states are eligible to join the EDA and to leave it. One EU member, Denmark, does not participate. The agency is financed by its members in proportion to their Gross National Income. An effect of this is that some nations pay vastly different contributions towards the budgets than others. For example in 2007^[7] the biggest budgetary contributor was Germany at a cost of € 4,202,027 followed by the United Kingdom paying € 3,542,487, and France paying € 3,347,139. Malta and Luxembourg have approximately the same populations, however using this funding mechanism Luxembourg was required to pay € 47,219 whereas Malta only had to pay € 8,739. Although not an EU member Norway has an opt-in to participate in certain EDA activities subject to a case-by-case approval; it is not required to make a contribution to the funding of the agency for any services the agency may provide it.

History

The European Defence Agency is a continuation of the work of the Western European Armaments Organization (WEAO) and the Western European Armaments Group (WEAG) - it effectively represents the transference of their functions from the WEU to the EU framework, and thus continues the decommissioning of the WEU.

Head of EDA

• Javier Solana, 2004-

Chief executives of EDA

• Nick Witney, 2004-2007
• Alexander Weis, 2007-

See also

• Western European Union (WEU)
• European Union defence procurement
• OCCAR
• European Defence Initiative
• Military of the European Union
• NATO Research and Technology Organisation

External links

• European Defence Agency Official website (eda.europa.eu)
• Council Joint Action 2004/551/CFSP of 12 July 2004 on the establishment of the European Defence Agency Official website (eur-lex.europa.eu)
• European Defence White Paper EU ISS Document
• European Defence UK NGO website
• Potentially powerful: The European Defence Agency at five years EU Observer

References

1. ^ Brussels, 10 November 2008, Press Release
2. ^ European Defence Agency europa.eu
3. ^ ^{a b} Background eda.europa.eu
4. ^ European Defence Agency eda.europa.eu
5. ^ New Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency Appointed eda.europa.eu 24//05/07
6. ^ [1]For data from EDA annual accounts
7. ^ EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY 2007 FINANCIAL REPORT June 2008