Fact sheet

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What is Pooling & Sharing“Pooling&Sharing”isaEU-ledconceptwhichreferstoini-tiativesandprojectstopoolandsharemoremilitarycapa-bilitiesamongEUMemberStates.

AsstatedintheGerman-SwedishFoodforThoughtPaperonEuropean Imperative IntensifyingMilitaryCooperationinEurope“Ghent Initiative” (November2010), “thegoalofthe initiative is topreserveandenhancenationalopera-tional capabilities – with improved effect, sustainability,interoperabilityandcostefficiencyasaresult”.

TheutilisationofPoolingandSharingasameansofad-dressingtheimpactofthefinancialcrisisonEuropeande-fencecapabilityhasbecomeamajorthemeofcapabilitiesworkinboththeEuropeanUnionandNATO.

Non-duplication and link to

operational needsEDAisworkingcloselywithNATOinordertoseeksyner-gieswith the respectivework-strandsandavoidunnec-essary duplication. The overall objective is to facilitateEuropeancapabilityimprovementbyaddressingEurope’sdefence capability shortfalls, some of which have beenrecentlyillustratedintheoperationinLibya.WithMemberStates’ support and through staff-to-staff contacts, theAgencywillcontinuetoensurethatalleffortswillbede-conflictedandcomplementarywithactivitiesundertakenintheNATOframework.

ContextOver thepastdecade,Europeandefencebudgetshavebeen declining steadily1. The current financial crisis isexacerbatingthesituationandresulting infurtherdeepcuts.Europeanarmedforceshaveincreasedtheir inter-nationalcooperationforthedevelopmentofdefenceca-pabilities.However,anumberofcapabilitygapscontinueto exist, as illustrated by the recent operation in Libya.There isalsoovercapacity incertainareasat theEuro-peanlevel,forwhichthereisscopeforrationalisation.

ThecreationofEDAin2004initiatedasystematicEuro-peanapproachtocollaborativedefencecapabilitydevel-opment, offering a forum for identifying and satisfyingoperational requirements and supporting the Europeandefence technological and industrial base. Within theAgency’sframework,theMemberStatesinitiatecapabil-itydevelopmentprogrammes,withtheAgencyprovidingexpertise, legal and administrative support to MemberStates’initiatives(e.g.helicoptertraining,thecounter-IEDlaboratory,andtheEuropeanAirTransportFleet).

Background: Ghent summit & EDA’s workEDAhasbeenworkingonP&Sformorethantwoyears.Thefocushasbeenonidentifyingandpursuingpracticalsolutions towards delivery and to provide an analyticaloverview, includingenablersandpotentialobstacles toP&S.

EDA’srecentworkfollowstheGhent2initiative,wherede-fenceministershaveagreedtodrawupaninventory

1 Defence Expenditure and Investment: 2008 to 2010 - In the two years following the economic crisis, the overall defence expenditure of the 26 EDA pMS decreased by almost 4% (or 5% if we look at real variation by taking inflation into account). The steepest fall happened in 2009 since from a value of € 201.4 billion in 2008 the 26 pMS aggregated defence expenditure decreased to € 194.0 billion in 2009 (3.7%). The decrease between 2009 and 2010 was much smaller amounting only to € 0.5 billion (-0,2%). Source: EDA Defence Data - http://www.eda.europa.eu/DefenceData.2 Ghent Ministerial Meeting, Belgium Presidency, September 2010.

EDA’s Pooling & Sharing

Fact sheet

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ofprojectswhere theycouldcooperatebysharingandpoolingmilitarycapabilitiesinordertoavoidduplicationandcutcosts.GhentinitiativeisrecognisedasastartingpointforPooling&Sharing,beingthe“wake-upcall”,theoriginofa“politicalmomentum”forPooling&Sharing.

On23May2011,theEDASteeringBoardtaskedtheAgen-cyto“produce,inclosecooperationwiththeEUMCandotherEUactors, proposalsonhowEuropeanPooling&Sharingcouldbetakenforward.

The Steering Board1 of 30 November 2011, further to itstasking of 23May, endorsed the EDA analysis and thereport on theway ahead onPooling&Sharing, includ-ingtheopportunitiesidentified.ThereportpresentedkeyfindingsoftheAgency’sanalysisonPooling&Sharing;itproposedatwin-trackapproachofquickwinsandlong-ertermoperationalrequirements,aswellasananalysison enablers and obstacles. On the latter,it highlightedthat furtherworkwas required on incentives, includingfinancial, andonmodels and legal frameworks. It drewontheworkofseniorlevelexperts2whohavesupportedEDA through theirexpertiseanddiscussionswithhigh-levelofficials.Ministersendorsedthe11Pooling&Sharingopportunities3identifiedbythereportandwelcomedthecommitmentsbycertainMemberStatestotheir imple-mentationasprojectsandprograms.TheytaskedEDAtoproposemodels for cooperationdrawingonbestprac-tice,andexaminewaystoimprovetheuseofexisting

1 The Steering Board, composed of the participating Member States' Defence Ministers plus a representative from the Commission (without voting rights), is EDA’s governing body. It represents the decision-making level in the capitals. Each year, at least two Ministerial Steering Board meetings take place - plus several at sub-ministerial level. The Ministerial Steering Board is chaired by the Head of the Agency, Ms. Catherine Ashton, and it usually takes place in Brussels, normally back-to-back with the half-yearly meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ formation.2 General Vincenzo Camporini, Mr Eero Lavonen, Mr Francois Lureau and General Mats Nilsson, plus Dr Hilmar Linnenkamp, who has also supported the Agency in developing its report.3 Helicopter training, Air to Air Refuelling, Medical Support, Training, European SATCOM Procurement Cell ESCPC) (and Maritime Surveillance, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Future Military SATCOM, Smart Munitions, and Naval Logistics).

instrumentsforfacilitatingPooling&Sharing(CapabilityDevelopmentPlan,theCollaborativeDatabase).TheyalsotaskedEDAtoprepareanoverviewoftheconsequencesofindividualbudgetcutsontheoverallEuropeandefenceeffort inorderto identify furtherpossibilitiesforPooling& Sharing and provide a further analysis on incentivesforEuropeancooperation, includingnationalexperienc-esandbestpracticeson “SaveandReinvest”.Ministersagreedtoevaluateprogressat thenextmeetingof theSteering Board in spring 2012, and regularly thereafter,withaviewtoestablishingfurthercommitmentstoPool-ing&Sharing.

The March 2012 EDA Steering Board in Ministers of Defence formationSevenofthePooling&SharingopportunitiesendorsedinNovember2011havemadegoodprogress.TheyrepresentEuropeansolutionstoEuropeancapabilityrequirements(egHelicoptertraining,AirtoAirRefuelling,MedicalSup-port, Training, European SATCOM Procurement Cell (ES-CPC)andMaritimeSurveillance).

• HelicopterTrainingProgramme(HTP):thedriverofthisprogramhasbeentheneedtoprepareEuropeanhelicoptercrewsforthedemandsofcurrentoperations.Through the pooling and sharing of expertise over 150crewshavebeentrained.Conceptisprovenandthepro-gramkeepsdelivering.Moreover,inJanuary2012,acut-ting-edgetrainingsimulatorwasproventhroughtrainingCzechandGermancrewswhoareplannedtodeploytoAfghanistan.EDAwillorganisetwoExercisesin2012:HOTBLADE12,hostedbyPortugal,andGREENBLADE12,host-edbyBelgium.

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• MARSUR: As a component part of the overallIntelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabil-ity, the production of a comprehensive picture of themaritimesituationisakeyrequirementforbothdeployedoperationsandsecurityof thehomebase. It isalsoanarea where major synergies can be achieved throughthemilitaryandcivilianauthoritiesexchanginginforma-tion.ThelinkswiththeEUCommissionandAgencies,andmaritimeorganisationsworldwide,havebeenenhancedthrough6pMS(ES,FI,FR,IT,SE,UK)linkingtheirnationalsystemsthroughanEDAdevelopedinterface.ThisinitialnetworkhasfifteenMemberStatesutilisingthenetwork.TheprojecthasbeenlaunchedwithFinlandasleadna-tion;andtenofthenationsutilisingitareexpectedtoin-vestinfurthernetworkdevelopment.

• ESCPC: TheESCPC “pilot”program isdesignedto prove that pooling demand will reduce both costs(10%estimate)andensurebetteravailability(securityofsupply and rapid access) for commercial communica-tionsatellitebandwithusedbymilitary.Fourof the fivecontributingMemberStateshavesignedtheProgrammeArrangementfortheEuropeanSATCOMProcurementCell.Othershaveexpressedinterest in joiningfollowingcon-tractsignature.

• MedicalFieldHospitals:Theprovisionofmedi-cal capability is a fundamental enabler for anymilitaryoperation and deployable medical capability is bothscarceandexpensive. It isan idealcapability forEuro-peanPoolingandSharingduetocommonlyrecognizedcivilianqualificationsanditisverymucha“dualuse”civ/milcapabilitythatcanbeutilizedinhumanitarianopera-tions.MedicalFieldHospitalsmovesonapacewith theparticipationoftenMemberStatesandItalyasleadna-tion. The concept prepared by Italy for the deployablemodularmulti-nationalfieldhospitalhasbeenendorsedand will allow for a flexible and broad participation ofMemberStates;andworkontheCommonStaffRequire-ment has commenced. The assembly of the capabilitypackage,includingprocurementofassets,isontrackfor2014.

MinistersareexpectedtosignaDeclarationofIntentfortheEstablishmentofMultinationalModularMedicalUnitson22March.

• AirtoAirRefuelling(AAR):AARisacriticalenablerforairpowerprojectionanditisrequiredtoenableany-thingbeyondshortrangeaircombatoperations.Auniqueforcemultiplier,itisafundamentalcapabilityembeddedinmodernaircraftdesign,notjustincombataircraft,butacrossthefullspectrumofairplatforms–includinginthe

nearfutureUnmannedAerialVehicles.representsamajoropportunityforEuropeancooperationinaEuropeanso-lution. Industryhas informally indicated that significantscalesavingswouldbeachievedshouldMemberStatesagree topooldemandaroundasingleaircraftconfigu-ration.EDAisdevelopingsolutionsincludingaSAC-typemodel,whichwould allow for flexibility (solution basedon contribution in kind and/or multinational procure-mentofnewtankers),cost-effectiveness(economiesofscalethroughjointacquisition,sharingofinfrastructures,maintenance,logisticalsupportandtraining),andgreat-er interoperability and operational effect (defragmenta-tionoftheAARcapacityacrossEuropebaseddependingontheindustrialoffer).Moreover,furthereconomiesandefficiencies would be achieved through rationalisation,aircraft-basingandproviding“AARTankerhours”forwideruse.

At the SBMinisters are expected to endorse a PoliticalDeclarationonAir-to-AirRefuellingdeclaringtheirwilling-nesstosupport thedevelopmentofEuropeanair-to-airrefuelling capabilities as a matter of urgency to meetnational,EU,NATO,andotherframeworks’operationalre-quirements.

• PilotTrainingandNavalTraininghaveattractedsignificantinterest.AllMemberStatestrainmilitarypilots,albeitatreducingnumbers.Economiesofscale,improvedinteroperabilityandtheenablingofEuropeanbasedsolu-tionsareallpotentialadvantagesofthisinitiative.Apre-requisite for progress is to standardizeaircrew trainingsyllabiinordertoenabletheoverallcoherencebetweenregional/clustersolutions.EDAwillmakeproposalsonthebasisofoperational requirementsandcompliancewithJointAviationRegulationswithaviewtoafuturemilitarypilotlicencesystem.OnEuropeanNavalTraining,workasstartedwith a view to better sharing existing facilities,realising economies and efficiencies, improved use ofnichecapabilitiesandcivil/militarysynergies.

Fact sheet

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• EuropeanMultimodalTransportHubshasbeenlaunched through a study to develop a European con-cepttoincreasetheefficiencyandcost-effectivenessofEurope’stransportassetsinsupportofmilitary,civilanddisasterreliefoperations.

The other four opportuninies (Intelligence SurveillanceandReconnaissance,FutureMilitarySATCOM,SmartMu-nitions,andNavalLogistics)continuetobetakenforwardbytheAgency.

Inparallelanumberof initiativesthatMinistersconsid-eredattheMay2011SteeringBoardhavealsocontinuedtoprogresswell(eg.Counter-IED,CBRN,StrategicTrans-portation).ThesetestifytosynergywiththeCHODsFinalFindingsonPooling&Sharing,manyofwhicharenowbeingtakenforwardwithintheEDAframework.

The EDA’s report also addresses the otherNov 2011 SBtaskings.

RegardingfacilitatingPooling&Sharing,EDAisnowlook-ingatSave&Reinvest(maximisingsavingsgeneratedbyMember States throughPooling&Sharing defence as-setsandcapabilitiesbyallowingtheresultantsavingstoberetainedwithindefencefordefencepurposes).Whilethe potential savings thatwould be generated throughPooling&Sharingareoftendifficulttoquantify,solutionsmight include sales of surplus equipment/assets or asavingspoolmechanism-ring-fenceaproportionofdi-rectsavingsfromEDAcoordinatedPooling&Sharingforfuturedefencecapabilities, includingR&T, enabling thefundstoberetainedwithindefencefordefencepurpos-es,wheretheycouldbeusedtofacilitatemorePooling&Sharingprojects.

RegardingPooling&SharingModels:

• “Cascading”model:collectiveutilisationofsur-plusequipmentandcapabilities.Asafirststep,EDApro-poses theestablishmentof anelectronicmarketplace(EDA-bay)forMemberStatestopublishopportunitiesforthesale/acquisitionofsurplusmateriel. Inorder tode-velopabusinesscaseandcollect thenecessarydata,EDAwill commenceamoresystematic investigationofthemodeltogetherwithMemberStates.

• Force Generation and Sustainment Headquar-ters: merging national headquarters responsible formaintenanceand logistics,proceduresandregulations,exercises and training, or day-to-day operational con-troloffleetactivity(thereareatleasttwoexamples:theEuropean Air Transport Command (EATC); and Belgium-Netherlands naval cooperation (Admiral Benelux). EDA

recommendsthatthesemodelsbeexaminedfurtherforpossibleextensiontoothercapabilityareas.

Finallythereportrecommendssomeregulatorywork:

• Theharmonisationand rationalisationofEuro-peanmilitary regulationsandprocedureswouldgener-ateefficienciesandeconomies.TheEDAMilitaryAirwor-thiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum (which isworking todeliver harmonised Europeanmilitary airworthiness re-quirements)isanexampleofamodelthatcouldbeusedtofacilitatetheharmonisationofmilitaryregulationsandprocedures in other domains Europe. Themodel offerstheprospectof:

• Thereareotherareastowhichthismodelcouldbe applied. Further examples that EDA is analysing in-clude the certification (clearance) of aircraft receiversfromair-to-airrefuellingplatforms;flightstandards;andammunition.

EDA’s role: what’s nextEDA is a Pooling & Sharing body in action, supportingMemberStatesambitionsand thecooperativebusinessdynamics.

Pooling & Sharing is an endeavour requiring long-termcommitment.EDAprovidesanoverallframeworkforPool-ing&Sharingopportunitiesandexpertiseandadviceonfinancial,legalandcontractualissues.TheEDAwillkeepatwin-trackapproachandfacilitateMSeffortstodelivercooperativesolutions.

Photo credits: Portuguese Airforce - EU NAVFOR - Austrian Airforce

Last update: 20/03/2012