Activities of Henri WEBER related to 2011/2177(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the impact of the financial crisis on the defence sector in the EU Member States
Amendments (8)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the congoing fiscal consolidation across the EU may lead totraction of investment due to the economic crisis, ferocious international competition, the volatility of exchange rates, euro/dollar parity and the austerity policies introduced by the Member States have already led to job losses and substantial programme cuts, shrinkages or delays for almost allsome Member States, whichand could adversely affect the European defence industry in the medium and long term;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that no major programme has been launched at European level since the 1980s;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the European defence industry is characterised by varying national policies, which could further aggravate the adverse effetoo wide a diversity of national policies and programmes, which will exacerbate the probable impacts onf the industrycrisis; stresses therefore that the competitiveness and resilience of the defence industry need to be increased to minimise the adverse effects; EU needs to pursue a European defence policy – based on cooperation, reciprocity, and security of supply, and geared towards striking an overall balance – which will foster a solid manufacturing and technological base capable of increasing the resilience and competitiveness of this industrial sector;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the absence of a common defence industrial policy has led to a deeperconsiderable fragmentation of the defence market, both in terms of demand,supply and demand and in terms of standards and regulations,; standards and supply; recognises that a common defence industrial policy makes sense economically, but also threatens to undermine the sovereignty of the individual stateresses that, to avert the risk of Europe falling behind in terms of technological capacity, and in view of the impact of the sector on the economy and – directly and indirectly – on employment in the Member States, a common defence industrial policy is now indispensable; is concerned by the consolidation of strategic partnerships with third countries at the expense of intra-European partnership; believes therefore that European defence industrial policy should promotinvolve multidimensional cooperation for the benefit of the EU, outlining theand that its main industrial objectives should be outlined, mapping the comparative advantages and strategic industrial sectors and emphasising the role of the EDA and NATO bodies in supporting cooperation among Member States;, in cooperation with the European Defence Agency.
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that an integrated European defence policy would make it possible to rationalise spending, avoid duplication, decompartmentalise the sector and ensure research spending was not spread too thin, as well as to pool technical resources and expertise where that would be advantageous; argues that research must be encouraged so as to enhance Europe’s industrial and technological capacity in the defence field; suggests promoting links between civil and military research in line with successful current practice in the communications and space research sectors, in view of the significant impact of defence-related research on the civil sector;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Considers that the absence of any proactive restructuring of our defence apparatus will seriously jeopardise not only our technological know-how and our defence industry, but also our strategic autonomy; stresses the vulnerable position of SMEs and SMIs operating in the defence sector, which are the breeding-ground of innovative technologies and play an important role in job creation;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Suggests, also, the setting up of a European monitoring and economic intelligence unit tasked with providing the necessary tools to confront international competition and maintain Europe’s international competitiveness;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the directives on procurement and technology transfers, which aim to increase competition and facilitboost European defence markets by decompartmentalising them, and to introduce greater the circulation of defence-related productransparency and more healthy competition into the defence equipment purchasing process; encourages, based on pooling and shary way of accompaniment, and on the basis of joingt initiatives, greater consolidation of demand through joint trans-European R&T projects or through optimising and bundling demand for shared capabilities taking into account the concerns of the defence industry; notes that on the supply side, lessthe least competitive companies that cannot implement an export-led growth strategy should pursue portfolio diversification, although some degree of supply consolidation is unavoidable.