Over the years the European Union has created an impressive number of institutions and programmes related to defence. For the experts it requires continuous attention and the scanning of documents to stay abreast. Others are lost in the dence forest of acronyms. The growing involvement of the European Commission in capability development through strengthening the defence industry has further increased the complexity of the institutional landscape. At the same time, the political pressure on the European defence industry to increase its production has grown, as the needs of Ukraine to be supplied with adequate amounts of equipment and munitions are higher than what can be delivered. Most likely, the election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States is to revive the question of how Europe can stand on its own feet in the defence area. Industrial production to supply the armed forces of the European countries is an integral part of this issue.
This policy brief analyses how institutional adaptation might help to better steer the process of strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). First, the existing international institutions and organisations involved in this process are portrayed to assess their roles and relationship. The authors pay special attention to the growing role of the European Commission in this matter. Are there ways to improve the connectivity of the organisations or is an adaptation of their mandates required? Next, the planning processes for capability development in the EU and NATO are analysed as the collective military needs of these two organisations should drive defence industrial production. Is there a need for better alignment and how should this be done?
The policy brief ends with conclusions and recommendations on how the Netherlands should engage itself in this institutional landscape for the optimal use of what the institutions can offer.
About the authors:
Dick Zandee is Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Security Unit of the Research department of the Clingendael Institute.
Roman de Baedts is a Researcher at the Clingendael Security Unit, primarily working on the Security & Defence Program.