Europe economic crisis causes cuts in Homeland Security budgets

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Europe is an important market for Israeli export companies and one of Israel’s important export fields involves Homeland Security equipment and technologies.

The economic crisis in Europe has hit the procurement budgets of many European companies thus delaying the shipment of necessary Israeli designed and produced equipment designated for homeland defense missions.

Conversations with European agencies shows that some homeland defense procurement plans were rejected  due to budget cuts and some are actually being reevaluated these days with the likely possibility of their being canceled as well. Europeans certainly recognize their homeland security needs, but the economic crisis has resulted in serious budget issues.  As a result many of those needs are being re-examined and necessary procurement plans , mainly involving unmanned and observation systems as well as non-lethal weapons for security forces are being delayed.

Representatives of major security agencies have admitted to the sales agents of Israeli companies they have been negotiating with, that they are experiencing ‘an economic ‘emergency hour’ and that their company’s plans will be delayed indefinitely. Even so, Israeli sales agents persist in their presentations while trying to convince potential buyers that creative means exist which would allow their organizations to fulfill the agreements under discussion. One of those means being stressed is the effectiveness of buy-back purchase agreements, however even that argument has failed to convince the buyers.

In most situations involving incomplete sales efforts the products have centered on genuine and proven in the field Israeli technologies.  Israeli exporters of security technology equipment and technology are voicing their deep concern for the situation because until recently it seemed that many future contracts were “safe”.  Rather than giving up these exporters are continuing their efforts to keep their contacts alive and all options open.