Abstract

If the impact of the initiatives launched to stimulate European cooperation in the field of armaments have long been limited by the absence of a common vision of the strategic stakes implied, the emergence at the end of the 1990’s of the European policy for security and defence (EPSD) has allowed the Europe of armament to become inscribed within a coherent polical-military framework. Aware of the depth of the transatlantic industrial and technological challenge, European governments are intent on providing the EPSD with a new impulse. The creation in 2004 of a European Agency for Defence is aimed not only at reinforcing the military capabilities of the Union, but also at increasing the competitivity of European industry. The future agency will thus be called upon to play a major role in the implementation of 'structured cooperation' which must, in the context of enlargement, bring together those member states wishing to move forward more rapidly with the building of a Europe of defence.

Laurent Giovachini is the Director of Cooperation and Industrial Affairs within the French Ministry of Defence. He represents France as National Armament Director at the European Union and at NATO.