On Tuesday, June 25, Minister of National Defence Gabriel Leş joined the head of the European Defence Agency Frederica Mogherini and its Chief Executive Jorge Domecq in the celebration of the 15 years since the Agency was established. The ceremony took place at the Agency headquarters in the Belgian capital.
In the speech that Minister Leș delivered in his capacity as representative of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, he commended the central role of the European Defence Agency in the efforts made by the EU in the areas of security and defence.
The minister also reiterated the excellent cooperation with the EDA during the Romanian office as Council Presidency and expressed his conviction that cooperation would remain as good in the future, substantially supporting the development of joint initiatives in the area of defence.
The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established in Brussels in 2004 as an intergovernmental agency of the Council of the European Union. It is headquartered in Brussels.
The Agency currently has 27 participating Member States (all the EU Member States except for Denmark).
EDA’s staff consists in about 170 people joined by a network of Member State national expert which accounts for over 2500 people.
Since 2015, the Agency has been headed by Chief Executive Jorge Domecq, who works under the authority of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini.