Military research

A ,,group of notables in the area of defense research,"which was convened in October of 2003, provided the guidelines for EU military research. The group includes EU politicians, among them the German Karl von Wogau, new chairman of the sub-committee on ,,Security and Defense"of the European Parliament. Among armaments industrialists are representatives of the German companies Diehl and Siemens as well as professional military advisers. Such ,,notables in the area of defense research"as the German vice chairman of the armaments conglomerate EADS, Rainer Hertrich, as well as the managers of the French armaments company Thales and the British counterpart BAE Systems, are in prominent positions. According to German plans these three firms, under the supervision of a triumvirate ( ,,Trirektoire") of the German, French and British military are to supply the necessary weapons: ,,Once the triumvirate of EU military coalition leads in the name of the EU, the BAE System, EADS and Thales shall develop into a triumvirate of the European arms industry." ¹⁾

Given

The official and semi-official representatives of the western European arms industry submitted a report to the EU Commission president, Prodi, in March of 2004, in which they complained about the ,,sharp separation between military and civilian research"and the alleged lack of ,,public funds,"recommending changes in both. They demanded a ,,European program for defense research"(EPSF), which must contain additional sums for arms research. Further, the report demanded the removal of the limits between civilian and military research, to allow for ,,modification and integration of technologies from one sector to another."The highlight of the proposal to the commission is the establishment of a targeted amount, of at least 1billion Euro annually, to be added to the present research budget. This annual budget to be raised by the EU member states shall be raised further in the future ,,so that European investments (including joint, national and international) in defense research will approach those of the USA."Finally, the report demanded the appointment of an ,,advisory council for defense research"with representatives from the military technology industry, which would establish strategic guidelines for a research plan. The proposed goal of the civilian-military research program is ,,to promote the ability of the European companies to compete in the area of defense." ²⁾

Forwarded

The EU Commission has adopted the list of demands by the arms industry now and has forwarded it to the council as well as the European Parliament. It states almost word for word that the EU ,,should initiate a comprehensive European program with a sufficient budget for defense research by 2007." ³⁾To this the 1,000 million Euro budgeted for the arms industry will be added. The demanded ,,European Council for Defense Research"shall be established as well and shall begin its preparatory work in the late Fall. In accordance with the EU Commission, the members of the council must ,,pay sufficient attention to the recommendations by the group of notables." ⁴⁾In anticipation of the future subsidy for defense research, the commission continues its ,,preparatory measures for defense research."Since March several million Euro annually are available for ,,pertinent to defense"research for the first time. The first contracts will be awarded shortly; the competitors include companies from the air, space and arms sectors.

Included

The alleged civilian space research plays the preparatory role in the militarizing of research and science. The ,,reorganization of European space flight"decisively promoted by Berlin, has as its goal the development of space exploration for military use and, with special emphasis on the necessary technology, for its own space weapons systems. ⁵⁾Since June of this year, the ,,civilian-military"research has its first institutional framework: The EU Commission has established a committee of experts for ,,space policy and defense"to be in charge of greater cooperation ,,in the various applications within the civilian as well as defense areas." ⁶⁾The European Union's satellite center in Spanish Torrejón, which is used primarily by the military, is part of the new body.

German foreign policy has achieved decisive influence on militarizing European research in time: In the future, the new EU Commissioner for Industry and Business, Guenter Verheugen, will also be responsible for the areas of space and ,,defense related research." ⁷⁾

1) see also Criminaland The End of ,,Civilian Power"
2) European Commission: Research for a Secure Europe - Report of the Group of Personalities in the field of Security Research, ISBN 92-894-6611-1, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2004; europa.eu.int
3) EU-Konzept fuer Sicherheitsforschungsprogramm (IP/04/1090); europa.eu.int 09.09.2004
4) Mitteilung der Kommission: Sicherheitsforschung. Die naechsten Schritte (KOM (2004) 590 endgueltig); europa.eu.int 07.09.2004
5) see also Participation
6) Europaeische Raumfahrtpolitik: Experten kommen zur Sache (IP/04/718); europa.eu.int 07.06.2004
7) see also The Dictate of Berlin

Sources:
Weltraum-Programme der EU - Schon bald auch militaerisch nutzbar?; Streitkraefte und Strategien 18.09.2004; www.ndrinfo.de
Die neue europaeische Waffenforschung; tageszeitung 28.09.2004