THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
The Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) New opportunities to overcome the fragmented European defence landscape
by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris
Let’s take stock!
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ARD was initiated by the Council through the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence (IPSD) in November 2016. Four years later, on 20th November 2020, the European Defence Agency (EDA) presented EDA defence ministers the first CARD report developed in close cooperation with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU Military Staff (EUMS). A report full of innovations and actionable recommendations. The High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, chairing the EDA meeting, concluded: “For the first time, we have a unique overview of all 26 EDA Member States’ national defence planning and capability development efforts. This is the result of in-depth dialogue with national defence planners at EU level”.
My following analysis of CARD is based on the transparency provided by the EDA during intense discussions in the last weeks with the agency’s CAP Director, Brigadier General Martin Konertz, who is doing a great job with his team: innovative, open for compromise, pragmatic, building confidence and always with the objective in mind! I also had a discussion at the beginning of November 2020 with the CEO of the EDA, Jiří Šedivý who showed a certain optimism that defence ministers will follow the proposals, notably in the three fields of defence spending, defence planning and defence cooperation, the very auspicious pillar. At the end of our discussion Šedivý said: “It is important that the Union shows its profile, ambitious and solid in defence and open to cooperate with NATO. It is up to us to show the US that Europe is cooperable”.
The 6 CARD Focus Areas
Main Battle Tank (MBT) CARD recommends the joint development and acquisition of a next generation MBT in the long term (entry into service mid-2030s), and joint modernisation and upgrades of existing capabilities in the short-term. If Member States cooperate in upgrading or collaborate when introducing new ones, a reduction of types and variants by 30% by the mid-2030s can be obtained. 11 countries expressed an interest in cooperation going forward.
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European Patrol Class Surface Ship CARD recommends replacing coastal and offshore patrol vessels within the next decade and develop an EU-wide approach for modular naval platforms. Opportunities for cooperation in joint off-the-shelf procurement, common logistics for similar vessels, common future functional requirements were found with 7 countries expressing an interest in cooperation.
Solider Systems CARD recommends modernising soldier systems through joint procurement of existing systems in the short term, including harmonising requirements, developing a user group for Joint Virtual Training & Exercises utilising common IT tools. In the long-term develop commonly shared architecture by mid-2020s for all subsystems using cutting edge technology. 10 countries expressed an interest in cooperation going forward.
