Member states agree new rules on arms purchasing

EU defence ministers on Monday (15 May) agreed to put an end to member states' scrambling for lucrative defence industry deals, with most EU countries signing up to a code of conduct on defence procurement. The code will come into force on 1 July and obliges signatories to publish tenders for planned defence equipment purchases on the internet, with European companies allowed to compete for most types of orders.

EU defence ministers from 24 EU member states - excluding Denmark which has a permanent opt-out on security and defence matters - met with the steering board of the European Defence Agency (EDA), to hammer out details on the voluntary code.

EDA chief Nick Witney said that opening up defence equipment for internal market competition rules would help small and medium sized companies benefit from extended trade on everything from boots and mini-vans to radar equipment and guns. The code should apply to defence procurement contracts worth €1 million or above, excluding nuclear weapons and chemical armaments.

The arms industry has so far been protected by the EU treaty from regular rules for the bloc's internal market, as the area has been considered a crucial matter of national security. Under the new code, which will not be legally-binding, EU member states are still allowed to exempt "highly sensitive" products to keep certain tenders away from the broader EU market, but any such move will need to be justified. Asked exactly what kind of purchases could be branded sensitive, Mr Witney pointed out that it was up to the European Commission as upholder of the treaties to define "national security" or more exactly "where boots and minivans stop and guns start."

Member states have until the end of Friday to post letters announcing their opt-out from the deal, with the Austrian presidency showing great confidence that the number of countries staying out of the scheme would be no more than three. "We hope that the letters will be lost in the post or torn up before then," Mr Witney said.

Both the European Commission and MEPs have previously supported efforts to open up the arms sector, suggesting that competition will lead to a better use of taxpayers' money. Spain and Hungary at the meeting announced their decision to stay out of the volunary deal for now, in order to conduct deep analysis of the effects of an opening-up of the defence market before announcing its final decision to Brussels. Poland considers joining the club: Fears that Poland would refrain from joining in as well, due to fears over being unable to compete with larger defence suppliers in the west, eased considerably on Monday. The same day Poland also announced it will send 115 soldiers to the EU peacekeeping mission in Congo in July.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Brussels praised the potential Polish decision to sign up to the code of conduct, saying the deal would be "good for Poland, its industry and for the goodwill it shows towards the EU."