Hr. formand, hr. kommissær, mine damer og herrer! I slutningen af 2008 var der nogle interessante overskrifter i aviserne om, at "verden genopruster", "boom inden for våbenhandel", "forsvarsudstyrsindustri - dyr på grund af manglende konkurrence" og nogle tilfælde af korruption i Tyskland og andre EU-lande.
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, at the end of last year there were some remarkable headlines proclaiming 'the world is rearming', 'trade in weapons is booming', 'defence equipment industry - expensive through lack of competition' and other cases of corruption in Germany as well as in other countries of the European Union.