The uneven path towards the construction of a European defence industry

The article analyses the measures adopted over the past few years by the European Union to shape a common defence industry. After briefly considering the current state of the European market for defence, the article presents a short taxonomy of the most recent initiatives adopted to foster industrial integration in the field of defence. These include the communitarisation of public tenders, the mobilisation of common resources for defence, the launch of joint industrial projects and cooperation, the pursuit of European procurement, and bureaucratic simplification. The research then addresses some legal challenges arising from the process of Europeanisation of national defence industries, namely the use of exception clauses, such as art. 346 TFEU, the conditionality attached to the granting of EU incentives to the defence sector and the introduction of ambitious HR due diligence for companies. Finally, the article will end with a set of conclusions.