BIARRITZ---At its Annual Convention in Biarritz on 6 October 2000, AECMA, the European Association of Aerospace Industries, developed the theme of Europe's Security and Defence Policy with participation by high level representatives from governments and industry.
Mr Jean-Pierre Masseret, State Secretary at the French Ministry of Defence, first reviewed on behalf of French Presidency the rapid progress recently made by the European nations in the field of defence. He cited the Framework Agreement signed by six EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), which seeks to facilitate the operation of the aerospace defence industry in such areas as procurement, export controls and information security.
This would be followed in November by the 15 EU countries offering commitments on the assets they will put at the disposal of the European Community, to support the capability to deploy a force of 60,000 men within 60 days, and maintain it for one year in a foreign territory. There had also been further steps in the harmonisation of equipment procurement, through multi-national programmes such as the Tiger and NH90 helicopters, and the A400 tactical transport aircraft. These political efforts accompany the restructuring of the industry in Europe around 4 major companies (BAE Systems, EADS, Thomson CSF and Finmeccanica).
Admiral Guido Venturoni, head of the NATO Military Committee, then emphasised the overall need for increased operational efficiency. In this respect, NATO and the European Union had to work more closely together to improve the DCI outcomes (DCI = NATO's Defence Capability Initiative). This would require first the establishment of a strong ESDI (European Security and Defence Identity), then a close working together process between NATO and the European Union, each organisation preserving its own integrity.
Admiral Venturoni considered that the co-operation between Europe and the US should not be discontinued and that the aerospace sector should play a leading role in the achievement of this aim. He also called on the industry to develop the necessary technologies for providing the required stand-off and real-time operational capabilities for European forces.
However, this European defence consolidation cannot be achieved at any price. Baroness Symons of the UK MoD stressed the importance of getting the right balance between autonomy" and "economy" in a changing world: she reminded the audience that the problem was now to get the best value for money when purchasing a defence equipment, taking into account the need for preserving future industrial competition and export prospects. In this respect, the links between EU and US had to be continued.
Baroness Symons considered that the four main drivers in the development of a European defence policy were political factors, industrial capability, the lessons learned from Kosovo and the need to improve efficiency at both the national and international level.
In particular, the Kosovo experience demonstrated that Europe has to drastically improve the interoperability of its equipment. The OCCAR should be the right tool to achieve this and to help close the technological gap with the US, provided it did not transform into a bureaucratic body where the slowest member would eventually set the pace.
Finally, John Hamre, Head of CSIS and former US Deputy Secretary of Defence, delivered a speech in which he explored the EU-US situation. In his view, despite encouraging achievements in the recent years, NATO would only survive if the European Security and Defence Identity become a reality. This would require continuous effort from the European side, in particular investing in new programs and awarding contracts to the EU industry to build the common capability. In doing so, Europe must yet avoid to follow the US example of developing a "Fortress Europe" attitude; on the contrary, it must find ways to co-operate with the US in order to narrow the technological gap between the two continents. For this to happen there were a number of prerequisite, including a relaxation of US export controls, which John Hamre considered to be too stringent at the present time.
New AECMA President
Also at the occasion of the AECMA Convention Rainer Hertrich, Co-Chief Executive Officer of EADS, was elected as AECMA President for the period 2000-2001, succeeding John Rose, CEO Rolls-Royce plc.
Mr Hertrich stated that he was delighted to take on the Presidency at such an important time for the European aerospace industry. He hoped to build on the success of the Association in ensuring that both the contribution aerospace makes to society and the interests of the sector are well understood.
Jean-Paul Béchat, Chairman and CEO of SNECMA, has been nominated as President Elect.
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" Aerospace is a Prerequisitefor Europe's Security and Defence Policy
