EU and NATO Defence Industrial and Procurement Policies: Complementarity or Competition?

Over the past decade, the European Union (EU) has significantly expanded its role in the defence industry. More recently, it has also developed a range of new and equally important instruments in the field of military procurement. The EU therefore appears poised to become a fully fledged actor in two major strategic areas: defence industrial policy and armament policies.

This notes examines how these new competences interact with — and potentially conflict with — those of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), at a time when the Atlantic Alliance is undergoing a profound transformation under the Trump administration. The analysis is organised around three main themes.

The first is to determine what the United States actually intends for NATO and its European allies: complete disengagement, a controlled delegation of responsibilities, or a new form of strategic supervision?

This note then considers the implications of this realignment for EU–NATO relations in the defence-industrial and military procurement fields, focusing in particular on the Union’s ability to strengthen the strategic autonomy of its Member States. Finally, it addresses the challenges of planning and governance at European level. More specifically, it seeks to answer the following question: What role should NATO play in identifying the priorities that should guide the EU’s defence and armament policies?

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