Spain has signed up to the competitive procurement regime for military equipment run by the European Union in the aim of opening the bloc's jealously guarded national defence markets, the EU said on Tuesday.
Spain's entry into the regime, following Hungary last month, means it comprises the defence markets of 24 of the EU's 27 states. Denmark has an opt-out on defence cooperation and new member states Romania and Bulgaria are still studying whether to join.
The voluntary scheme uses an electronic bulletin board to post tenders for contracts worth at least one million euros for cross-border bids. Countries pledge under a code of conduct to use it as widely as possible, with exemptions possible when national security is at stake.
"This is further evidence that governments recognise the benefits of the code of conduct and of more open, cross-border competition in this vital sector of the economy," said Nick Witney, chief executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), which runs the regime.
The EU defence market is put at around $30 billion a year, about half of which is already open. The EU sees competitive procurement as a way of making sure governments get better value for their defence budgets. In the year since it came into force, governments have advertised nearly 200 contract opportunities worth 10 billion euros ($13.42 billion) on the bulletin board.
So far, only one contract has been awarded to a company from a different country to the tender. EDA officials stress it takes a long time to award defence contracts.
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