The United States currently spends five times more on defense research and technology than all of the Union's members put together. The result is an increasing mismatch between American and European weaponry, despite the fact that 19 EU members also belong to NATO.

"Europeans really do have to find ways to spend more on defense research and technology, to spend more together and to spend more effectively," European Defense Agency Director Nick Whitney told reporters Thursday. "If we are serious about creating a competitive defense industry in Europe, we must do better on defense R&T."

In a post-Cold War era of peace dividends and defense budget cuts, EU officials are resigned to the fact that finance ministers are unlikely to boost military spending significantly. But they, along with their NATO colleagues, are urging member states to spend less on troops and more on high-tech equipment. "Hard questions have to be asked about how we spend our defense budgets," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "For example, is it really right we spend half our defense budget in Europe on personnel costs to keep two million men and women in uniform?"

In 2005 -- its first full year of operation -- the European Defense Agency focused on opening up the continent's notoriously closed defense procurement market. The focus this year will be on defense R&T, said Whitney.

At present, EU states spend some $2.5 billion a year on defense research and technology. But Brussels officials believe European taxpayers could get more bang for their euro if member states pried open their defense R&T markets and launched more joint research projects in the field.

"Today, money never crosses frontiers in defense R&T," said one EU official, arguing that national ring-fencing "fossilizes the supply base, stifles innovation and protects national markets."

The EDA is proposing to create a European research and technology fund that would finance joint defense projects and encourage member states to pool their meager military resources. Officials said the fund, which would be managed by the EDA and controlled by national governments, would "put research money where people do things best" and help develop technology hubs in Europe. However, as payments to the fund will be voluntary, officials admit there is no guarantee it will develop the necessary seed capital to carry out its work.

In the short term, the EDA aims to focus on developing better technology to protect European troops in the field. "One casualty in any operation is one casualty too many," said one official, adding that force protection is a "big preoccupation of defense ministers when they decide to commit troops." Among the research areas the fund is likely to commit money to are: protecting against improvised electronic devices, sensing and detecting threats through infra-red technology and developing lightweight body armor for soldiers and electronic armor for vehicles.

The move is likely to raise eyebrows at NATO, which is also investing in force protection R&T projects. However, EDA officials said avoiding duplication was one of the reasons EU leaders set up the agency and stressed there would be no unnecessary use of money.

European defense ministers meeting in Innsbruck, Austria, Monday and Tuesday are likely to give the green light to create the defense R&T fund, as well as a science and technology advisory board composed of defense experts and industry representatives.

Ministers will also discuss how to meet a U.N. request for European troops to help safeguard June elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In January, the United Nations asked the Union for 800 soldiers to ensure the central African country's first free elections since independence pass off peacefully. However, European nations appear hesitant about committing troops to the troubled region and made little headway when EU foreign ministers discussed the matter Monday.

EU diplomats said France, Germany and Sweden were willing to send troops and Belgium -- which is barred from deploying soldiers in former colonies -- would help with logistics. But so far, no country has offered to take command of the mission, as France did in 2003 when it led an EU peacekeeping mission to the east of Congo.

Officials said there was likely to be limited EU deployment on the ground -- mainly in and around the capital Kinshasa -- but that back-up troops would be stationed nearby. A final decision to launch the military mission is expected at the end of the month.

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