The EU Defence Agency National Armaments Directors in Riga to discuss the strengthening of the European Defence Industry

On 9-10 March, the European Defence Agency National Armaments Directors meeting and the back-to-back event with the NATO and the U.S. will take place at the National Library of Latvia to discuss the strengthening of the European defence industry and other topical issues.

The National Armaments Directors will exchange views to prepare for the June 2015 European Council discussion on defence. The discussions will focus on incentives for cooperation measures to stimulate defence-related research, and support to defence industry including in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The working sessions will be chaired by the European Defence Agency. They will assemble the National Armament Directors from the European Defence Agency Member States and representatives from the European Commission. The back-to-back event session hosted by the Latvian EU Presidency will also include representatives from NATO and the U.S.

The participants of the meeting will also receive a presentation by representatives of the Latvian security and defence industry.

The European Defence Agency National Armaments Directors' informal meeting in Riga is a significant contribution to the preparatory work for the European Council discussions in June 2015 providing a further impetus to European defence cooperation.