The European Defence Agency (EDA) has approved the 11 EU defence capability priorities to improve coherence across the continent.
The EDA approved 11 Strategic Context Cases (SCC) which instruct on how to implement EU defence priorities. They describe the current capability and what is currently planned to address issues.
Results of the NATO Defence Planning Process and the work of the Framework Nation Concept (FNC) are also taken into account when planning priorities. The SCC also highlights problems with the implementation of these priorities.
EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq said: “We all know that there are pressing capability challenges across the whole spectrum. For example, there is a growing threat from the use of mini-drones to our military forces.”
“The SCC will provide concrete and tangible gains across the Member States in addressing this issue in the short, medium and long term.”
The SCC are integrating documents: each of them also reflects the R&T priorities identified in the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA) and related R&T activities linked to each capability priority. Cross references of the SCC to the Key Strategic Activities (KSA) which are considered important for the implementation of the priority such as technologies, skills and industrial manufacturing capacities will be added once the KSA reports are approved by the Steering Board.
To prepare the SCC, EDA worked closely with Member States, the EU Military Committee (EUMC), the EU Military Staff (EUMS) and European industry which was consulted to collect their views on technological solutions to close identified capability gaps and face the new security challenges. The Agency also ran staff to staff meetings with NATO to ensure activities developed by participating Member States within NATO are correctly reflected.
The next step in the elaboration of the first edition of the SCC will happen in February 2020 when EDA will present to the Steering Board part two of the SCC containing roadmaps of ongoing capability development activities and possible new ones which, subject to the necessary ad-hoc decisions by Member States, could be taken forward in the Agency framework. The SCC are living documents and will be updated by EDA over time, also on the basis of Member States’ feedback, to make sure they always reflect the latest developments in the implementation of each and every priority.
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