After the fall of the Berlin Wall, European governments adopted a hands-off policy towards the defence industrial base, in an attempt to increase the sector's efficiency and reactivity. In this context, one topical issue is how to motivate defence firms to apply for private rather than public...

In the last decade, European defence has undergone impressive changes. Military alliances between EU member countries have strengthened, and a European defence industrial base is building up. But in a paradoxical way, European countries look less capable of coping with important military crises,...