News and activities

Eurodefense Netherlands and the Defence and Security department of the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers (KIVI DV) organise an  international seminar titled " European Policies for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence ". The seminar will take place in hybrid form on May 24th at KIVI in The Hague.  Early this year, the European Union recently adopted the groundbreaking European Union AI Act, marking a significant milestone in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. However, this law does not cover defence-related applications of AI. However, the development of AI in the defence sector is no less rapid than in other sectors of society. Therefore,  during our seminar, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of AI for our sector and the potential implications for European policies. Five leading speakers will provide a broad overview of future AI related developments in the defence sector and indicate their implications for existing and futu

In December 2023 our Dutch member association Royal Society of Engineers (KIVI) submitted  recommendations for the European Defence Industry strategy   to the European Commission. Titled " The future of juste-retour, compensation and Industrial participation " European Union Defence industry The proposal states that in the 21st century interdependence in the EU has risen to a level that strategic autonomy of a single Member State is impossible. Even when export boosts a Member State industry, a certain level of dependence on (sub)systems from other Member States cannot be avoided. Therefore the EU policy is aimed at achieving strategic autonomy of the European Union as a whole.  To reach this goal it is important to change the current market-distorting practice of compulsory offset or industrial participation into a more open market. For this purpose, a new structure is necessary to recognise European companies and allow them to participate within Europe and for exports on

  The Ukraine War has seriously added relevance to questions about effective ways to better arrange defence procurement and the defence industry. This is especially true in the EU where the traditional focus on national industry has led to scattered production and costly manufacturing lines. Join us for a discussion on a draft Eurodefense recommendation to the European Commission on advanced ideas how to plan ahead for a European defence industrial base (EDTIB) that is up to the task of developing and equipping the armed forces of the member states.

Springbok armoured vehicle by DCD Protected Mobility On 16 August 2023, EDTA president Jan Wind  was invited to speak about Financial Public Private Partnerships ( FPPPs ) at the  Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) for Security and Defence Conference   organised by Defenceweb in Pretoria (South Africa) . His main message was that innovation could speed up if private funds are used effectively in a Public Private Partnerships for Defence. Similarly, private financing methods could be used for major programmes: manufacturing of capabilities and in-service support. It could be important for the South African Defence to take advantage of these opportunities to strengthen its capabilities. Conclusions 1. Progress in Europe Financial Public Private Partnerships are pursued by the European Union, NATO and several European member states. These seem to be quite complex to develop, but it has advantages to involve the financial sector in national security. Certainly, since the war in Ukraine

  On 15 February 2023 EDTA and the  Eurodefense network sent " Recommendations on Energy, Security and Defence " to the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.  The recommendations are a report of a joint working group (EWG26B) and consist of Geopolitical Considerations, European Energy policies proposals and a technological perspective .  For EDTA the technological perspective is the most relevant part. Continue reading for this part of the executive summary and for recommendations on technology, specific for Defence. Links to the other part of the recommendations can be found at the bottom of this page. General Considerations  The energy transition for defence needs to progress in several areas. Energy sources, energy carriers (i.e. fuels/storage), energy efficiency/savings, and smart energy applications and design. Naturally all of this must be clean and sustainable, or at least better than the ones they replace. The most ef