The Greek Minister of National Defence, Dimitris Avramopoulos attended the EU Defence Ministers Summit and the European Defence Agency’s Steering Board, which took place in Brussels.
The European Defence Agency (EDA) approved the annual work programme for the year 2012, the triennial work programme for the years 2012-2014 and the creation of a helicopter pilots programme. In the context of the same Meeting, the establishment of Pooling and Sharing for the endorsement of E.U. operations was widely discussed.
As far as the ATALANTA operation (counter-piracy) and the general questioning on the establishment of pooling and sharing for the Armed Forces’ coordination and funds saving -given the financial constraints- are concerned, Mr. Avramopoulos presented a Hellenic proposal for the establishment of a pool of 8 to 10 frigates, the operational cost of which will be spread among the participating countries, based on a GDA price index.
The adoption of this proposal greatly favours our country, reducing the cost for its participation in operation ATALANTA.
In the disagreement phrased by the United Kingdom, concerning the French proposal for an increase by 2% of the annual budget, a percentage equivalent to the inflation rate, Mr. Avramopoulos made a conciliatory proposal to adopt a solution increasing it by 1%, which found support by other countries. The issue remained pending.
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