A 20-year multinational strategic partnership is being negotiated between Walloon arms manufacturer FN Herstal and the Belgian State for the supply of light weapons and ammunition to the army and police, worth €1.7 billion, L'Echo reports.
The Ministry of Defence cites national security as the reason for offering the tender to the Liège-based group without a competitive tender. The partnership provides for the maintenance and management of Belgium's existing stock of weapons, as well as support in engineering, research and development, the rental of weapons or weapon systems, and the supply of ammunition.
The Ministry of Defence is set to contribute €1.3 billion to the company, with the police contributing an additional €384 million. The supply of ammunition would be worth some €900 million for the army and €310 million for the police, according to a report by the Inspectorate of Finances that L'Echo was able to consult. After donating to the Ukrainian army, Belgium is set to be critically short of ammunition stocks.
In the long term, the FN Herstal's ammunition plant in Zutendaal (Limburg) will be able to expand its activities, with the combination of Walloon and Flemish economic interests arguing in favour of the project.
"This vast project will help to strengthen our national strategic autonomy, as well as securing our supply lines," confirms Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder, praising the positive economic impact of the partnership across Belgium.
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FN Herstal and the Federal Government intend to take advantage of an exemption from European public procurement rules to avoid having to compete with other companies.
This, according to L'Echo, has prompted considerable scepticism from the Inspectorate of Finances, which believes that "there is no legal basis to justify awarding this public contract – which will run for a very long time and have a very significant budgetary impact – directly to FN Herstal."
