Kategorie: Science Communication

Berlin, 12.12.2023

How does Germany compare to other European countries?

For Europäische Sicherheit & Technik I analyzed Germany’s participation in EDF projects. While there is an increase in Germany’s involvement I argue that Germany is still underperforming with regard to its defense-industrial and economic weight. Furthermore, there is a mismatch between participations in PESCO and in the EDF, which indicates a lack of a comprehensive strategy.

You can find the article „Die Rolle Deutschlands im Europäischen Verteidigungsfonds“ in Europäische Sicherheit & Technik 12/2023, p. 23-26.

Of the roughly € 100 bn in defense procurement EU countries have contracted since February 2022, 78% have been awarded to non-EU suppliers, according to an IRIS – Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques study by Jean-Pierre Maulny.

In a guest commentary for the NZZ Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Sebastian Hoppe and I explain why this means no good news for European defense efforts and why Europe needs to do more together. We also highlight that a larger US market share in European defense procurement may be preferable for US defense contractors but less so for a more balanced transatlantic alliance.

➡ We conclude by arguing that only the addition of national market shares would allow the Europeans to realize their market power and act like an arms cartel on the global stage. This last point we owe to the argument put forward by Jonathan Caverley for The Wall Street Journal.

You’ll find the article (in German) below.