The United States and European countries should do more to open up their defence markets to competition at a time of tight budgets, the head of Nato said on Monday. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said he planned to appoint a special envoy to help ensure that countries were getting value for money for defence spending.
"We need equal opportunities for European Union and American defence companies to compete across the Atlantic," Rasmussen told an industry conference in London. He noted that 90 percent of the Pentagon's procurement budget went to US companies, while Europe often favoured its own contractors. Rasmussen welcomed moves by US President Barack Obama to reform export licensing programmes, which should allow US companies to play a greater role in Europe.
Nato's 28 allies needed to prioritise spending, improve co-ordination and adopt a multinational approach, he said. Rasmussen said he wanted a specific package of mulitlateral measures to be on the table in time for the next Nato summit in Chicago in May 2012.
Nato is worried that financial hardship among member countries could hurt the alliance's military capability unless steps are taken to make procurement more efficient. "I think for most of us, it is the worst economic crisis we have ever faced and it has an impact on everything we do," Rasmussen told reporters.
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