10 Amendments of Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS related to 2022/2079(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the EU’s defence sector is fragmented, which creates strategic vulnerabilities for the Union, Member States and industry; is concerned about the lack of cooNotes that in the face of the significant increase of threats in an increasingly destabilised geopolitical order, the EU must act more strongly to reduce its critical dependencies from the rest of the world; considers that critical technologies should be considered as one of the European Security priorities; underlines that the EU’s defence sector suffers from strategic external dependencies that create vulnerabilities for the Union, Member States and the European Defence Technological and industrial base (ETDIB); recalls the importance of the European Defence fund (EDF) and the Horizon programme as regard ination and calls for more strategic cohesion in security and defence policies at Union levelvestment on critical technologies, and calls for a revision of the MFF in order to increase its budget; welcomes, in this context, the Commission’s launch of the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) and encourages the Commission and Member States to take this initiative a step further and strive towards a de facto military union supported by a strongly articulated common market for defence equipment, followed by a review of the Treaties for more EU competences on critical technologies for defence, innovation in defence, and security and defence affairs; is concerned about the lack of coordination and calls for more strategic cohesion in security and defence policies at Union level;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to make full use of common procurement and common R&D projects, particularly within the framework of the European Defence Agency, as a tool for exploiting synergies in the EU defence sector and providing the necessary competitiveness and technological edge in arms and equipment production;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the relevant EU bodies to consolidate EU cooperative frameworks for developing cutting-edge military technologies, equipment and capabilities and for EU-level legislation to coordinate Member States’ strategies for critical technologies and to reduce dependencies, while maintaining a competitive internal and global market for the EU defence sector and companies;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the EU to agree on a common definition of what are “critical technologies”, and to agree on a list on main critical domains, as well as to decide on domains where EU action is a priority; calls on the EDA to include the notion of critical technologies in its annual CARD exercise; calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to review all defence programmes and policy tools, check if they are still fit for purpose, and summarise findings and share them with all other Member States when possible and relevant; suggests that the European Defence Agency can provide light touch support and coordination suggestions, including a strategic assessment of the findings;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to review all defence programmes and policy tools, check if they are still fit for purpose, and summarise findings; suggests that the European Defence Agency can provide light touch support and coordination suggestions, including a strategic assessment of the findings and present solutions to support common R&;D and procurement projects, especially with regard to ammunition;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for a more pragmatic and business-oriented approach to military research in order to provide incentives for innovation in military technology, including by reducing or removing barriers to entry into the defence market, while preserving and enhancing the necessary levels of standardisation and interoperability; further calls for increased support for European companies in emerging technologies to ensure they remain competitive in international markets by relaxing the rules on compliance documentation and by providing tax incentives and stimulating investments;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the need to stimulate the development of skills for innovation, research and development (R&D), and fundamental research in critical areas related to emerging technologies; calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to establish and fund defence innovation hubs and to support emerging clusters based on new projects and cooperation;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the need to stimulate the development of skills for innovation, EU financially supported training programmes, research and development (R&D), and fundamental research in critical areas related to emerging technologies; calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to establish and fund defence innovation hubs;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned about the EU’s dependence on China for raw materaw material, in particular from some non-democratic countries and strategic rivals andsuch as China, calls on Member States to reduce their vulnerabilities resulting from dependence on non-democratic suppliers of critical technologies and materials, and to enhance defence production chains in Europe by localising or near-shoring production; recalls that any dependence on critical technologies may lead to increased risks of blackmail on the CFSP and CSDP;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to work on a plan and investment scheme to update and strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, electricity grids, water and food supply and telecommunications infrastructure (undersea cables), for the digital age, including by adapting it to AI- assisted drone supervision and maintenance; subsequently calls for the elaboration of an EU R&D and manufacturing strategy for advanced drones;