ASSESSMENTS

The Goals, and Limits, of the EU's New Defense Industrial Strategy

Mar 11, 2024 | 19:05 GMT

Finnish soldiers prepare to board a Swedish CB90-class fast assault craft ahead of an amphibious assault demonstration during the Nordic Response 24 military exercise on March 10, 2024, near Saltstraumen, above the Arctic Circle in Norway.
Finnish soldiers prepare to board a Swedish CB90-class fast assault craft ahead of an amphibious assault demonstration during the Nordic Response 24 military exercise on March 10, 2024, near Saltstraumen, above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

(JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)

A new EU defense industrial strategy seeks to support member states' efforts to restock and acquire new defense equipment in the short term and boost the European Union's ability to enhance its defense capabilities and acquire more strategic autonomy on defense in the long term, but disagreements over joint funding and structural constraints to defense spending in Europe may reduce its efficacy. On March 5, the European Commission unveiled the European Defence Industry Strategy (EDIS) and the European Defence Investment Program (EDIP), both of which are meant to boost the bloc's defense capability development. Together, EDIS and EDIP aim to facilitate cross-border cooperation for arms production, purchase and ownership between EU member states, strengthen the bloc's defense technological and industrial base, and create an EU market for defense. The EDIS sets out to clarify how the European Union intends to support the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) to...

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