Reference documents

Defence Package - Towards an EU Defence Equipment Policy

Following the Commission's adoption of the "Defence Package" in December 2007, two directives were adopted in 2009 with a view to facilitate the development of a European defence equipment market: Directive 2009/43/EC on intra-EU transfers of Defence products simplifying terms and conditions of transfers of defence-related products within the Community and the Defence and Security Procurement Directive on the coordination of procedures for the award of certain works contracts, supply contracts and service contracts awarded by contracting authorities or entities in the fields of defence and security.The package also consists of the Communication "Strategy for a Stronger and More Competitive European defence Industry".

EU transfers of Defence-related products

Until recently, fragmentation of the European defence market and divergent national approaches caused many problems for the European defence industry. For example, national systems to control the transfer of defence equipment to another Member State did not distinguish between exports to third countries and transfers between Member States. Heterogeneous national licensing regimes hampered the security of supply between Member States and cost over €400 million a year.

The new Directive 2009/43/EC on intra-EU transfers of defence products [1 MB] will alleviate these obstacles. It will be a further step towards a genuine European market for defence equipment without sacrificing Member States' control over their essential defence and security interests.

The Directive will induce Member States to replace as far as possible their existing individual licences with general licences for those intra-Community transfers where the risk of re-exportation to third countries is under control, such as purchases by armed forces of other EU Member States and transfers to certified companies of components in the context of industrial cooperation.

Global licences, grouping multiple transfers to several recipients by one supplier, will cover most of the remaining intra-community transfers, with individual licensing thus becoming the exception. Member States will remain free to determine the products eligible for the different types of licence and to fix the terms and conditions of such licences.

Member States will have to transpose the Directive by 30 June 2011 at the latest. They will have to apply the Directive from 30 June 2012.

Further reading:


More information can be obtained by contacting:

European Commission
Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry, Unit C/4 B-1049 Brussels (Belgium) Fax: +32 2 299 3098 - E-mail: entr-internal-market-simplif@ec.europa.eu

Defence and Security Procurement

The Defence and Security Procurement Directive sets Community procurement rules which are adapted to the specificities of the defence/security sectors. It allows, for example, the use of the negotiated procedure with publication as the standard procedure and provides special provisions for security of supply and security of information. The existence of this Directive will make it easier for Member States to limit the use of the exemption provided for in Article 296 of the Treaty to exceptional cases, in line with Court of Justice rulings. Taking into account the increasingly blurred dividing line between security and defence, the new rules will also apply to sensitive contracts in the field of non-military security.

Communication "A Strategy for a stronger and more Competitive European Defence Industry"

The Communication "A strategy for a stronger and more Competitive European Defence Industry" sets out a number of actions that the Commission, Member States and the European Defence Agency (EDA) can take to enhance competitiveness.

Last update: 13/10/2009 | Top