mr president while many elements of an efficient single market may be welcome defence and thus by extension defence industries are a very special case they have a unique national strategic importance
as others have mentioned six out of twenty-seven eu countries account for more than eighty of defence spending and for ninety-eight of research and development
these six countries are already developing common licensing arrangements under a voluntary framework
so i have to ask why the commission thinks it is so important to have a directive of this nature
i have to admit that is seems innocuous
as far as i can see it does not create community competence in the defence trade
defence industrial interests that i have consulted seem relaxed about it but ms rühle thinks it is all about sanctions and export controls and commissioner verheugen has endorsed this view
mr toubon emphasises that exports are outside the text
i notice that the commission will be charged with reviewing implementation of the directive and will evaluate its impact on the development of a european defence equipment market and a european defence technological and industrial base
it would be extraordinary for the commission to spend so much time on such a project if it were merely intended to simplify rules and procedures
it seems curious to me that while the uk contains the largest defence industry of all the eu countries there is very little in this directive of any benefit to the united kingdom
indeed there is added bureaucracy and a new concept of certified companies will have to be introduced
i am not sure that it is sufficient justification for a directive that it can be regarded as just fairly harmless
it is certainly a step in the direction of greater eu involvement in defence
we should have reassurance that the commercial and industrial gains are of such importance that they justify such a piece of legislation and that while barriers to intra-community trade are being lowered there are no additional hidden obstacles to defence trade with countries that are outside the eu
i would like assurances from the council and the commission on this point
