Mr. Olli Ruutu:

I referred to our privatisation framework. We have a strand of work, called "key strategic activities", which identifies the industrial skills and know-how required in the European defence technological and industrial base to sustain capability development and research areas in accordance with our priorities. We monitor the supply chain and industrial landscape in areas such as materials and components in terms of how Europe can have a viable supply chain and we identify risks and opportunities in that regard. We are developing a risk management framework that is specifically dedicated to managing cybersecurity issues and military capability supply chains. A strong supply chain is a prerequisite for digital sovereignty. We are trying to develop this kind of assessment for military commanders. We are in the early stages of the risk management framework but we and other EU actors are looking at identifying what the requirements are for defence-trusted supply chains. In terms of the application of emerging disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, we want to see what the requirements would be for certification of defence-trusted technologies.

We are conducting this work with member states and are at the beginning of discussions on what exact elements would help to manage risk in the supply chain. We are only one of the actors and I am sure that this is a matter of concern for others. Besides the risks and disruptions caused by Covid to the supply chain, there are also issues of security of supply owing to access to certain components and raw materials. This work forms part of our prioritisation of industrial competency, skills and efforts to ensure that we are prepared in terms of supply chain security.