BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) said defense and security procurement will be more transparent and competitive under a new directive for a common defense equipment market, introduced on Monday.
Until now, most defence and sensitive security equipment has been procured on the basis of uncoordinated national rules, which differ greatly in terms of publication, tendering procedures, selection and award criteria, the European Commission (EC), the executive branch of the EU, said in a press release.
This regulatory patchwork was a major obstacle towards a common European defense equipment market and opened the door to non-compliance with the EU's Internal Market principles.
The new directive would open up the Internal Market for defense and security products by introducing transparent and competitive procurement rules specifically adapted to the needs of these highly sensitive sectors.
"This directive introduces at the European level fair and transparent procurement rules for defence and security," Internal Market and Service Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said.
"This will make defence and security markets more open and more transparent to the benefit of all: taxpayers' money will be spent more efficiently, armed forces will get better value for money, and industry will get better access to new markets," McCreevy added.
The new rules apply to the procurement of arms, munitions and war material and also to sensitive non-military contracts in areas such as protection against terrorism, which often have similar features to defence contracts.
According to the EC, member states will still be able to exempt particularly sensitive defence and security procurement contracts where the new rules cannot satisfy their security needs. In most cases, however, member states should be able to use the new directive without any risk for their security.
Member states have two years to transpose the directive into their national legislation, the EC said.
