The growing role of the European Commission in defence capability development

Molnár, Anna (2024) The growing role of the European Commission in defence capability development. EUROPEAN INTEGRATION STUDIES, 20 (2). pp. 291-317. ISSN 1588-6735

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Abstract

The aim of this research is to present and analyse the growing role of the European Commission in defence capability development. In the first section, I review the literature on the theoretical background of the Commission’s role in the European defence policy. In the second section, I briefly present the decision-making processes in the fields of Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defence Policy. Following the discussion of the external factors that underpin these developments, I elaborate on the past role of the European Commission and how it has changed after the recent Russian aggression in the Ukraine. I then use SWOT analysis to highlight the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the role of the Commission in European defence. Although several EU member states and institutions supported the further integration of defence policy following the creation of the European Security and Defence Policy in early 2000, the defence-related activities of the EU remained weak and limited. Similar to the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine in recent years has spurred further development and “Europeanisation” of this policy area. During the last decade, the EU has set the defence agenda in motion and has launched new military-related initiatives due to the deteriorating security environment in the EU’s neighbourhood. This has sometimes even involved breaking the taboos on defence and strengthening the role of the Commission significantly in the defence industry and space sectors. Following the creation of the European Defence Fund, the most important development in this area concerned the possibility of using EU budget money for defence purposes. Although the defence industry and market of the EU is still fragmented and underfinanced, the European Commission has launched important initiatives to overcome these challenges.

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