International Seminar on Security of Supplies

The International Seminar on Security of Supplies was held during the 19th International Defence Industry Exhibition. The meeting was organised by the Department of Armaments Policy of Polish Ministry of National Defence in cooperation with the European Defence Agency (EDA) and with the support of other European countries whose representatives delivered presentations (and among them France, Norway, Sweden, Italy) and the European Commission.

Undersecretary of state of MON for armament and modernisation Marcin Idzik in his inaugural speech highlighted the fact that “we would all like the European Union to be able to meet the present-day challenges in the field of security and defence. Thus it is necessary to acquire the appropriate defence capabilities, this can be done owing to the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base”. He noted that ‘Poland supports the dynamic development of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. This would create conditions to ensure security of supply, the management of urgent operational requirements, an increase in the independence of European countries and would strengthen the autonomy of the European Union”.

Poland's Ambassador to NATO, Bogusław Winid, discussed the challenges faced by NATO and the EU in the development of defence capabilities. He stated that NATO, with its concept of “smart defence” and the European Union, with its “pooling and sharing” initiative, are heading in the same direction – rationalisation of Member States’ defence spending. Mutual support amongst organisations is a key factor and also constitutes a challenge shaped by political considerations.

The seminar included, as one of its main parts, the session on the experiences of specific states in ensuring security in the supply of armament and military equipment, negotiation of agreements between governments and industry and international cooperation on this issue. A subsequent session was dedicated to discussion on further initiatives in security of supply.


The aim of the seminar was to propose that governments and representatives of EU Member State defence industries work on development of a Code of Conduct on Security Supply, and in the event that this proposal is accepted during further work, then development of an inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding on Security of Supply. Seminar participants discussed the initial guidelines for the Code of Conduct on Security of Supply and proposed further initiatives concerning this issue within the EDA in cooperation with Member States and representatives of industry.


Security of armament and military equipment supply is one of the principal tasks of the European Defence Agency in the field of creating a unified armament and military equipment market within the EU and increasing cooperation between EU Member State defence industries.