Faced with growing budget constraints, as well as security challenges that are only getting bigger, cooperation between European states on defence capabilities has become a necessity. The European Defence Agency (EDA) - an inter-governmental agency whose Steering Board comprises the defence ministers of 26 participating countries - was created to that end. A facilitator working for its member states, decisions on defence investments are taken at national level, as is the choice of whether to make use of a given capability.At the last meeting of the EDA's Steering Board, held on 30th November 2011, the defence ministers approved, on a proposal of the agency, 11 operational cooperation opportunities, including air-to-air refuelling, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, naval logistics and satellite communications, to mention but a few. Not every country will take part in every project, but most have confirmed they intend to be involved in at least one of the proposed fields, offering a clear sign of confidence in the EDA's work and methods.
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