MAIN HEADLINES FROM THIS ISSUE:

• Hopes rise for defence directive meltdown

  EU member states may be about to witness a meltdown of the strict interpretation of Directive 2009/81/EC. Burkard Schmitt, the European Commission defence expert who was behind the directive, is leaving, and Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister, has been appointed President of the European Council…..

• Burkard Schmitt’s concession rings true for Belgium

  Belgium will introduce a new procurement approach for the forthcoming F-16 replacement program. Belgium is currently forming a new coalition but if the incoming government supports the approach, the country will no longer ask for offsets. It will ask for “unsolicited proposals.”

• Kuwait minister makes statement on policy suspension

  Kuwait’s Finance Minister, Anas al-Saleh, has broken the government’s silence on the suspension of the country’s offset policy concerning both civil and defence procurements and announced that new rules could be ready in about six months.

• EC roadmap foresees guidance note on G2G contracts

  The commission will organise two workshops with member states in autumn 2014 and develop a guidance note on the use of the exclusions from Directive 2009/81/EC. This will focus on government-to-government sales…..

• Australia’s shipbuilding tender faces reality check on extent of local industry involvement

  A parliamentary committee report on the future of Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry has addressed the issue of industry involvement.