PARIS ― A planned move by the European Union to boost cooperation in defense industrial research among member states may have a big impact on their relations with the U.S., which pursues bilateral ties with transatlantic partners, said a research study from Ares, a network of European think tanks.
The EU now actively pursues a European defense technological and industrial base, which calls for cooperation between members and a “certain degree of strategic autonomy,” according to the report, titled “Defence Industrial Links Between EU and US.”
That European defense industrial goal calls for U.S. reciprocity and formal ties with the EU in defense research, which would deliver “mutually beneficial” links, the report said.
The authors call for two conditions to promote that European defense policy:
- Rules on relations between the EU and U.S. defense technological and industrial base, or DTIB, be based on reciprocity and equivalent regulations on the respective DTIB.
- Rules governing relations between the EU and U.S. DTIB in the context of dialog between the E.U. and the U.S. rather than a bilateral link between an EU member and the U.S.
A move toward a defense industrial link between the EU and the U.S. would shift away from present bilateral ties, which block deeper cooperation between EU member states.
There are several bilateral agreements between the U.S. and EU members that are “potential obstacles to the establishment of a level playing field governing the relations between European defense technological and industrial bases,” the report said.
Those bilateral agreements hamper cooperation on technological exchange between EU members because of the rule of “U.S. eyes only,” the report said, adding that France has “encountered this type of difficulty” in its willingness to cooperate with Britain.
“It is as if the transatlantic bilateral cooperation becomes a brake on European cooperation and therefore on the establishment of a European defence industrial policy,” the report said.
There is also a lack of reciprocity and an absence of an equal regulation of the arms industry in the U.S. and the EU, covering areas including access to advanced capabilities; unrestricted use of arms exports; and rules governing investment in U.S. and European companies, the report said.
“If nothing is done to remedy what must be called a decoupling of American and European interests in the field of armaments, it is to be feared that the emerging scenarios will accentuate the divide between Europe and the United States,” the report said.
The aim is “not to build a fortress Europe” but to avoid agreements with countries outside the EU that weaken efforts to boost the competitiveness of the European defense technological and industrial base in an bid “to achieve a certain level of strategic autonomy,” the report said.
The planned European Defence Research Programme could have implications on transatlantic ties, the report said. The more cooperation between EU members under that program, the more they will set “common and mutually beneficial rules” with their link to the U.S., the report asserts. The program will set rules for members’ access to funding and intellectual property rights.
The report explores the bilateral tie between the U.S. and allies Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden, noting Britain and Sweden have a “rather positive assessment” of their capability ties with the U.S., France has a “rather negative record,” and Germany and Italy fall between the two.
That bilateral link is considered in terms of capability, costs, industry, technology and the broad political front.
