The Council approved yesterday the signing of the draft administrative arrangement between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the US Department of Defence (US DoD).

The purpose of this agreement is to provide a framework for exchanging information and exploring opportunities for cooperation between EDA and the US Department of Defence. The initial scope of this collaboration includes:

• Forum for Exchange and Dialogue: The administrative arrangement will enable substantial defence dialogue on all matters within EDA’s remit and invitations for the US Department of Defence to participate in relevant meetings of EDA Steering Board and vice versa.
• Specific activities such as: consultation on the registration of chemical substances (e.g. EU REACH), military mobility, supply chain issues and the impact of climate change on defence.
• The cooperation also includes participation in the open sessions of the European Defence Standardization Committee.

The scope of cooperation may, by mutual consent, be gradually developed in the future. Currently, activities falling within the areas of capability development and research as well as technology remain outside the scope of cooperation.

The arrangement confirms the significance of the transatlantic partnership in security and defence and reflects the importance of a stronger and more capable European defence that contributes to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO.

In the EU-US 2021 Summit Statement, leaders committed to work towards an administrative arrangement for the United States with the European Defence Agency.

On 16 November 2021, the EDA Steering Board gave the mandate to the Head of the Agency to negotiate the arrangement, and on 9 December 2022, a draft proposal for an administrative arrangement was submitted to the Defence Ministers in the EDA Steering Board.

The arrangement will enter into effect on the date of the signature by the parties.

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