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EU: Britain and France clash over EU military research

01 August 2006

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In a closed meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels, Britain opted not to join a new EU defence research programme to develop high-tech battlefield protection for European troops. The move prevented the adoption of a three-year spending plan for the European Defence Agency (EDA). Instead, EU defence ministers were only able to adopt an annual budget for the body - 22.1 million euro for 2007. Nineteen European nations did sign up for the research project to spend 54 million euro to develop 'force protection technologies' such as body armour, sniper detection and secure communication. France, Germany and Poland will take the lead in the project. Other EU member states and Norway will contribute money.

Britain is arguing that it is already heavily engaged in research in such fields as a consequence of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the EU project would duplicate those efforts. Britain spends 2.3 billion pounds on defence research, nearly half the total across the whole of the EU. The British defence secretary, Dan Browne, said that he was afraid of 'mission creep' under way at the EDA, e.g. the development of a 'separate defence budget' for the EU. Briton wants the EDA to only play a coordinating role, similar to a 'dating agency' that would bring European countries and research programs together.

Reuters, 10.11.06 (Mark John); Ireland On-line 13.11.06; Financial Times 14.11.06 (George Parker)

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