EDA Chief Executive visits MoD

The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević on 2 September 2019 met with the European Defence Agency Executive Director Jorge Domecq.

THe EDA Executive Director Domecq is on an official visit to Croatia upon the invitation from Minister Krstičević and following the recent informal meeting of the EU defence ministers and ahead of Croatian presidency of the EU Council.

Minister Krstičević and Chief Executive of EDA discussed the priorities of the Croatian presidency of the European Union and said it entailed a high responsiblity as well as an opportunity.

“The focus in the defence range during the Croatian presidency will be placed on implementation of defence initiatives such as PESCO, CARD and military mobility, with the emphasis on their coherence and complementarity, as well as on the industrial dimension of defence (European Defence Fund) and on the enhanced NATO-the EU co-operation and further EU efforts in southeast Europe“, said the Minister, who also announced a defence industry conference with the partners from the EU, during the Croatian presidency.

Praising the visit of the European Defence Agency to Croatia Minister Krstičević underlined the excellent co-operation and support of EDA through the PESCO projects, the CARD and the PESCO National Implementation Plan and reminded that Croatia took part in six PESCO projects.

“The existing co-operation framework provides solid ground to implement the desired level of ambition; it takes additional efforts to ensure coherence and complementarity of the initiatives as well as the co-operation of all relevant stakeholders“. The Minister also underlined the planned major progress related to allocation of the funds for the development of defence capabilities and the research within the European Defence Fund.

The Minister stated the Croatian defence industry was recognised in the international market for its specialised top quality products, as proved by the fact that the Croatian soldiers were fully equipped with the domestic-made equipment and weapons. The Minister also said that it was of high importance to mind the funds availability for the SME, as the only way to ensure balanced distribution of funds and development of defence industry and of the research community.

The Minister expressed appreciation to the European Defence Agency for the support with the application to the EU funds contest which in 2017 helped the firm Utilis to access the necessary grant for the project CYBER CONFLICT SIMULATOR (2017) :
CYBER CONFLICT SIMULATOR is the first primarly defence project funded from the European Structural and Investment Funds, which was a decisive moment in EDA’s years-long promotion of the EU funding for defence research projects.

Speaking of Croatia’s participation in EDA programmes, the Minister underlined that Croatia started the procedure to enter the MARSUR programme, which gathers the interested member countries to develop Maritime Awareness through the information exchange network and countering drug and illegal trafficking, illegal migration and international terrorism.

Speaking of Croatia’s participation in EDA programmes, the Minister underlined that Croatia started the procedure to enter the MARSUR programme, which gathers the interested member countries to develop Maritime Awareness through the information exchange network and countering drug and illegal trafficking, illegal migration and international terrorism.

Minister Krstičević extended appreciation to Director Domecq for the co-operation with regard to the forthcoming Croatian presidency of the EU Council and for the support with the organisation of the activities pertaining to the defence industry.

Director Jorge Domecq said EDA was highly committed to supporting all its member countries, regardless of their size. The ongoing and future presidency is an opportunity to further incorporate EU defence initiatives into the national defence plans and programmes, aimed at enhancing the co-operation and the efficiency and interoperability of the European defence, and affirmed the Agency’s interest in organising a high-level conference on defence industry in the first half of 2020.

EDA Chief Executive Domecq held meetings with the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces General Mirko Šundov, with the State Secretary for Defence Zdravko Jakop, with the assistant ministers Petar Mihatov and Roman Mikulić and toured the Croatian defence industry exhibition space in the Ministry of Defence.

During his visit and on the occasion of the workshop on the operation and activities of the European Defence Agency and the amenities offered to the SME through new EU defence initiatives the Executive Director will deliver a lecture in the Croatian Chamber of Economics for representatives of the defence industry and of the research community.

The European Defence Agency ( EDA) was founded in 2004, to provide support to the EU Council and member countries with upgrading the defence capabilities. The Agency’s main mission is providing support to the development of defence capabilities and military cooperation among the European Union Member States and stimulating defence Research and Technology (R&T) and strengthening the European defence industry.

EDA encourages the member nations to approach the common interests and goals pertaining to capability building and individual needs by sharing the logistic, operational and training systems and provides support to the EU-led operations commanders through expertise and projects.

By acceding to the European Union on 1 July 2013 the Republic of Croatia also became a member of EDA.

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