EDA chief cites 'massive inertia' in European defence industry

European Defence Agency (EDA) Chief Executive Nick Witney has spoken of the "massive inertia" of the defence industrial sector and the Brussels culture that is "focused too little on achieving results" as he prepares to step down from the pan-national body.

Witney spoke of the "inevitable friction of any multinational enterprise" in addition to describing his time leading the EDA as "the most rewarding of my professional life". His comments were published in the EDA Bulletin on 25 September.

Alexander Weis - who is currently Germany's Deputy National Armaments director - was chosen in May 2007 to take the job that Witney has occupied for four years.

Speaking of the challenges the EDA has faced since its inception in 2004, Witney said:

In seeking to encourage defence co-operation in Europe, we are in a double bind. First, we face the inevitable friction of any multinational enterprise - a friction manifested less in the explicit clash of interests than in a collective readiness to take refuge from difficult issues and decisions in elaborate processes and endless drafting.

Source: Jane's

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