Appropriate Level of European Strategic Autonomy

The European Commission’s communication of July 24th, 2013, “Toward a more competitive and efficient defence and security sector”, called for the creation of a strong and competitive armaments industry supporting the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). According to this communication, the European Union “must be able to assume its responsibilities for its own security and for international peace and stability in general. This necessitates a certain degree of strategic autonomy: to be a credible and reliable partner. Europe must be able to decide and to act without depending on the capabilities of third parties. Security of supply, access to critical technologies and operational sovereignty are therefore crucial”. For its part, the EU’s June 2016 global strategy highlighted that having “a sustainable innovative and competitive European defence industry is essential for Europe’s strategic autonomy and for a credible CSDP”.

To increase the EDTIB’s competitiveness, the European Union can take action on several levels. It can use its regulatory power as regards market organisation, the EDTIB’s protection as a strategic activity, the development of standards and certification of equipment, as well as the security of supply…