Mali - 13 October, 2015 by European Defence Agency
 

Sep. 11, 2014 - By JULIAN HALE – Defense News

BRUSSELS — Further sanctions against Russia agreed to by European Union countries on Monday will enter into force tomorrow, an EU official said here Thursday. The measures will cover the capital market, dual use (civil and military) goods and the energy sector.

EU nationals and companies may no more provide loans to five major Russian state-owned banks. At the same time, trade in new bonds, equity or similar financial instruments with a maturity exceeding 30 days, issued by the same banks, has been prohibited. The same restrictions have been extended to three major Russian defense companies and three major energy companies. Providing services related to the issuing of the above financial instruments, e.g. brokering, is also included in the prohibition.

The EU official refused to name the three Russian defense companies ahead of publication of the sanctions in the EU’s Official Journal tomorrow.

An existing ban on exporting dual use goods and technology for military use in Russia has been extended to also include a list of nine mixed defense companies that must not receive dual use goods from the EU. Again, the EU official would not name the companies and would only say that there were “around 20 items” on the list but was unable to give specific examples.

“The measures to be published tomorrow were prepared at the end of August by EU countries in response to the flow of arms from Russia to Ukraine,” said the EU official.

In a press statement, the European Council’s President, Herman Van Rompuy, said that the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) of EU countries will carry out a comprehensive review of the implementation of the [Russia-Ukraine] peace plan on the basis of an assessment carried out by the European External Action Service (EEAS) before the end of the month.

“Work on that is ongoing,” said the EU official, who added that “she expected it to be an internal assessment.”

“We have always stressed the reversibility and scalability of our restrictive measures. Therefore, in the light of the review and if the situation on the ground so warrants, the Commission and the EEAS are invited to put forward proposals to amend, suspend or repeal the set of sanctions in force, in all or in part,” said Van Rompuy in his statement.

Brussels | Oct 17, 2013 European Defence Agency

Innovation is at the core of defence technology. The European Defence Agency promotes European cooperation in innovative technologies. EURidea is your new forum to pitch novel ideas for defence research.

Research and innovation have a critical role to play in the creation of the next-generation of technologies that will underpin the capabilities for our armed forces. Europe benefits from a leverage effect when innovation is done with partners across the continent. Industry and academics can reduce risks and gain critical mass for innovation when work is conducted between trusted partners across sectors. It is a win-win situation when the best minds work together to tackle major challenges we are facing, now and in the future.

How to participate?

1) Fill in the attached form (EURIDEA application form)

2) Send the form to the EUR-idea@eda.europa.eu by 19 November 2013

3) If your proposal is selected, you will present it during the 2013 R&T conference

4) Your proposal will also be forwarded to the relevant CapTechs

More information:

• News "EDA R&T Conference - Register Now!" (16 Oct 2013)

• Event entry "Research & Technology Conference 2013: Critical Defence Technologies – Exploring Innovation Together"

Using fossil fuels comes with an addiction that is hard to shake and we rely on them heavily to get through the day. Diesel and petrol power our cars and busses while coal and oil help us keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The latter types of fuels also help power the metro systems and the overhead railway lines to take us longer distances. To take us really long distances kerosene is what propels us all the way up into the Jetstream.

The defence domain is no less susceptible. On the contrary, over the years the dependency has grown and although it mainly concerns logistic fuels, they are nonetheless fossil. But as shown by this Workshop there is room for change and improvements can be made today, some aided by technology others through spreading awareness.

Reducing energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency of our deployed systems will reduce the overall need for fuel. Subsequently the number of convoys needed to be sent into high threat theatre can be reduced. By doing so, the exposure to risk by personnel can be reduced.

The reduction in fuel consumption also results in lower materiel life-cycle costs. Furthermore the sheer reduction in overall combustion of fossil fuels reduces the hazardous emissions. These aspects are not only relevant to high threat areas but also to the other extreme in terms of CMOs, disaster relief. Also, if we can reduce fuel consumption in theatre, we can most likely do the same in the homeland.

Contracted to Spanish company ISDEFE, the study with the acronym Fuel-D provides a statistical picture of overall energy consumption in operations as well as specific data associated with selected camps in theatre. The statistics have been analysed in order to identify trends and opportunities for reducing consumption. Fuel-D has further developed a software tool to allow mission planners to better understand how capabilities can be enhanced by reducing energy consumption and how this affects the cost burden positively. In addition Fuel-D has shown how camp designs can be optimised through the introduction of novel and renewable energy technologies. This is in particular feeds straight into EDA and Member States expert work in developing Best Practices for Energy Supply Systems for Camps.

The successful conclusion of the Fuel-D study feeds into the continued work on energy and environment that EDA Member States are undertaking. The upcoming workshop series Military Green 2013 to be held in early June will be the first step in exploiting the results of the Fuel-D study.

More information:

• A leaflet on Military Green can be found here. 
• More information on the Military Green 2012 conference and outcome is available here.