The Conference on Research and Innovation in the field of Defence Capabilities - Main contents
The Conference on Research and Innovation in the field of Defence Capabilities” was hosted by the House of Parliament in Bucharest on Tuesday, 26th March 2019, in the margin of Romania’s chairing the rotating Presidency of the European Union Council.
Along with the Minister of National Defence, Gabriel Leş , and the Chief Executive Officer of the European Defence Agency, Jorge Domecq, the proceedings were also attended by high-qualified designated members working for the Ministry of National Defence, European Institutions and Defence Centres in the field of Industry and Defence.
The discussions were not only concerned with the latest evolutions at the level of the European Fund for Defence (FED), but also with the opportunities and challenges pertaining to Research and Innovation in the specialty of Defence Capabilities, emphasizing thereby the new tools of prioritization designed for Defence research, technology and innovation, and the harmonization of the research priorities at European and national levels.
“This conference represents the appropriate professional framework that enables me to discuss with the high-qualified designated members working for the Ministry of National Defence and for the Research Centres in the field of Industry and Defence, issues regarding industry, European institutions, opportunities and challenges for research and innovation in the field of Defence. The main objective of FED is competitiveness, efficiency and the capacity of innovation of the technological industry assets for Defence (EDTIB), that contributes both to the Union strategic autonomy and its freedom of action, supporting thus joint cooperation and cross border cooperation among legal entities throughout the European Union.
Furthermore, this issue also emphasizes that FED’s role is to support not only research through cooperation, but also the development of products and technologies for Defence, implementing thereby the appropriate measures regarding research in the field of Defence (PADR), and the pilot-programs of the European Program for Industry Defence (EDIDP)”, stated Leş, Minister of National Defence in his welcome message.
The main goals of the conference were to assess the research stage regarding cooperation in the field of Defence, to lay emphasis upon EDA’s role in its capacity of main forum for research, and to the investigate the financial sources the European Commission provides in order to promote the competitiveness of technological industry assets.
Furthermore, the meeting agenda also covered discussions regarding priority designations with respect to research in the field of Defence, and the way they are approached at European level. Moreover, given the new threats, special attention was given to cooperation in Defence, and various opinions and lessons learned were presented to the conference participants as a result of the R&T professional joint projects that have been implemented under the aegis of EDA.