On 23 October 2019 IEL Director Professor Martin Trybus participated in a panel discussion entitled “10 years of the Defence and Procurement Directive: Achievements, Challenges and prospects” hosted by the European Commission in Brussels and moderated by Sophia Besch, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.

Delegates of the 10th Anniversary Event of the Defence and Security Procurement Directive

The panel discussion was part of the 10th Anniversary Event of the Defence and Security Procurement Directive which was opened by Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Professor Trybus, the leading expert on the Directive, most importantly through his book “Buying Defence and Security in Europe: The Defence and Security Directive in Context” (CUP, 2014) was the only academic on the panel. The other panellists were Emilio Fajardo, Industry, Synergies & Enablers (ISE) Director at the European Defence Agency (EDA), Bernard Piekarski, Chef du Pole “Politique et Stratégie d’Acquisition”, Service des Achats d’Armement, French Ministry of Defence, and Jan Pie, Secretary General, AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD).

The event was also an extension of the meeting of the European Commission Expert Group on Defence and Security Procurement.