Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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497. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he has identified suitable capability projects for the European Defence Fund and for the European Defence Industrial Development Programme; and if he will be proposing options for the joint procurement initiatives within the European Defence Fund as the European Council has requested member states to do. [33134/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The European Commission published a number of documents on 7 June 2017. These included a communication proposing the establishment of a European Defence Fund and a proposal for a Regulation to establish a European Defence Industrial Development Programme (DIDP). The purpose of the Defence Fund is to promote research and innovation and contribute to the strengthening of the European Defence technology and industrial base, and to further stimulate the development of key defence capabilities.

The Fund proposes to coordinate, supplement and amplify national investments in defence by pooling resources individual Member States can achieve greater output and develop defence technology and equipment that may not be feasible on their own. The Fund will also foster innovation and allow economies of scale thus reinforcing the competitiveness of the EU defence industry.

The Fund has two strands with different legal and funding structures (or "windows") which are complementary and are being gradually deployed:

Under the Research Window, the EU will offer direct funding (grants) for research in innovative defence products and technologies, fully financed from the EU budget.

Under the Capability Window, Member States will pool financial contributions to jointly develop and acquire key defence capabilities. The EU will offer co-financing from the EU budget on the Development phase through the proposed European Defence Industrial Development Programme. The EU will also support member states’ collaborative efforts in helping them deploy the most suitable financial arrangements for joint acquisition with a view to incentivise cooperation and leverage national financing

On 22 June 2017 the European Council called for a number of actions in relation to the Defence Fund and DIDP, the first of which is for agreement on the DIDP proposal. A Friends of the Presidency Group has been established by the Estonian Presidency of the EU which will be the initial working group format through which the proposal will be considered by Member States. It is intended at this early stage, to have the proposal adopted by the first quarter of 2018, and to have the first spend under the Programme in 2019. It would be premature to begin identifying capability projects before negotiations on the draft Regulation has commenced.

Ireland has participated in a number of capability development projects with other Member States through the European Defence Agency. The primary reason for Ireland’s participation in the European Defence Agency since its establishment in 2004, is to support the development of Defence Forces capabilities for peacekeeping and international crisis management operations.

Ireland also participates in a collaborative database known as CODABA which is managed by the European Defence Agency. This database provides a platform for engaging with other Member States on a number of fronts including collaborative and/or joint procurement.