There is little talk of European defense, probably because the protection of the particular interests of each state still reigns supreme on international tables.
A conference promoted in Rome by the Circle of Diplomatic Studies on "Defense developments in the international geopolitical context" focused on where the member states are in the European defense strategy, what the objectives to be pursued and the contribution of companies should be operating in the sector, while in Brussels the commitments on the many defense initiatives promoted by the High Representative Federica Mogherini were reaffirmed.
During the Rome conference, Luisa Riccardi, director of the 5th Segredifesa department, affirmed the need to be present at the tables where the rules are written. The European defense fund will start in 2021 and was anticipated by a three-year preparatory activity, which consists of the Commission's ability to spend in the defense sector. “The first battle was to create a real defense fund, and it was important because national sensitivities are very different, but what is even more important is to preside over the tables, to be there, so that the rules are also made for us favor, participate and carry forward the exhibitions instances”, explained Riccardi.
Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo, underlined “the inefficiency of Italian defense spending. We must move towards a European scheme that allows us to spend European taxpayers' money better". Above all, continued Profumo: “To define an Italian strategy, upstream it is necessary to carry out a critical and objective analysis of the sectors in which we want our country to be present. We have to understand what we want to be capable of, what we want to be good at and build an operational strategy on that. It is necessary to consolidate the national supply chain, this is how we become stronger also at an international level and above all I am convinced that some programs will either be European or they will not be implemented. It is useless to discuss whether or not one wants to be part of a larger organism, the alternative is to put ourselves on the sidelines”.
On the Brexit question, in particular recalling Leonardo's participation in Team Tempest, the British programme, financed with defense funds for the development of new technologies and entrusted to a group of companies including the Italian Leonardo, which has 7 plants in the United Kingdom and 7000 employees, Profumo said: "Unfortunately we do not know how the negotiations will end, we are hypothesizing a series of possible scenarios, but even in the case of a soft Brexit it is necessary to understand how the United Kingdom will want to participate in the European negotiations".
The president of Fincantieri Giampiero Massolo affirmed that the contribution of companies and industries is to suggest, to explain why they are highly specialized companies at a technological level, but it is the governments that have to decide on the most realistic defense strategies. Above all, what companies can do is suggest to governments which sectors are more mature than others and which therefore can be more integrated, the naval sector for example is a very advanced sector. “We are convinced that without the United States, without NATO, without the nuclear umbrella, nothing can be done in the field of European defence. This is not the case and companies have a key role in dialogue with governments”, said Massolo.
To respond effectively to new threats from the east, south and within the continent itself, Europe needs a more powerful and better coordinated defense industry. “We must try to be effective in the things that we believe are of common interest to all states. The ability to cooperate has been demonstrated on many occasions, but the problem is that there is no common foreign policy”, said Vincenzo Camporini, IAI vice president.
According to the Corriere della Sera columnist Franco Venturini there are two global crises, the European and the American one and the European one is far more serious: it is Brexit, the Visegrad group, the southern hot front. Venturini stated that when we talk about European defense we are talking about something vague and difficult to achieve: "There are no debates on defense, because it is not talked about in politics". One of the dangers for Italy is that of not knowing how to be present in a sector that closely interests it. “We are so far behind in European defense that we either do it within the ambit of the transatlantic pact or we don't do it”, concluded Venturini.
In addition to Pesco - the project under the common security and defense policy aimed at the structural integration of the armed forces of 25 of the 28 member states - the Council of the European Union adopted its own conclusions on the European Fund for defence, proposed by the Commission in June. The fund includes a budget of 13 billion within the new multiannual budget 2021-2027, of which 8,9 for capacity development, and 4,1 for research.
The introduction of the fund is a major initiative in the field of defense and aims to encourage the competitiveness, innovation, efficiency and autonomy of the Union's defense industry, by supporting cross-border cooperation between Member States and between companies, research centres, national administrations, international organizations and universities in the research phase of defense products and technologies, as well as in their development.
“I welcome the progress made by the Council on our proposal for a European defense fund as part of the next long-term EU budget. Once the European Parliament has also adopted its position, I call on the co-legislators to start discussions to reach a common position without delay", said EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elzbieta Bienkowska.
