Civ-mil synergies
European Commission EDA’s mission is to improve EU’s defence capabilities for the Common Security and Defence Policy. In its work to improve defence capabilities, the Agency needs to ensure coordination and synergies with European investment in civilian security.
Military and civilian means are used both in EU’s crisis management operations and in Europe for the security of EU citizens. Often military and civilian capabilities overlap, for example in the areas of communications, command & control and information gathering. Technology research and development is increasingly based on “dual-use” requirements, provided by both civilian and military users.
EDA has aimed at creating civil-military synergies since the beginning, seeking for means to develop cost-effective cooperation between civilian security and defence research activities. Software-defined radio and the insertion of unmanned aircraft systems into non-segregated airspace are examples of areas where work is coordinated with the activities of the European Commission and the European Space Agency.
In November 2009 the EDA Steering Board launched the European Framework Cooperation (EFC) for defence, civilian security and space-related research. The EFC aims at systematically coordinating research investments by EDA, the European Commission and the European Space Agency, focusing in particular on areas of dual-use for civilian security and military users. The overall aim is to prevent duplication between defence and civilian research to save resources, and to improve civil-military interoperability and standardization.
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