EU to endorse plan to open armaments market

21/11/2005 - 10:17:02
EU defence ministers were today expected to agree on a plan to open up their €30bn arms industry to increased cross-border competition.

While the new “code of conduct” will be voluntary and non-binding, it marks a breakthrough for the EU after decades of trying to persuade nations to relax protection of their tightly guarded national defence markets.

Governments have been able to protect their national defence industry champions because military contracts have been largely excluded from EU legislation that has ripped down barriers to trade within Europe in other sectors.

EU officials say more than half the annual spending on new military equipment in Europe lies outside EU free market rules.