Public Procurement for Defence and Security in the Context of Enhanced Integrated Cooperation within the European Union and NATO

Abstract

The main research objective of thesis was to ascertain whether further EU regulation of defence and security procurement is a valid solution for achieving the objectives of defence integration at EU level and, in the affirmative, what legal initiatives should be pursued. The policy analysis has shown that recent geopolitical and security evolutions have generated a paradigmatic shift in the EU’s approach towards defence integration, with capability development and force readiness at the core. Since issues pertaining to equipment interoperability, sustainable supply chains and industrial consolidation are inherently linked to procurement practices, an updated and streamlined legal framework is a necessity. In normative terms, the existing legal framework provides enough margin of appreciation to the Member States and their national authorities to use their sovereign prerogatives to apply preference-based procurement practices. Thus, a specific EU-wide legal framework for defence and security procurement remains a necessity in order to achieve the sum of integration objectives established in these fields by the EU and its Member States. A regulatory overhaul based on innovation is a valid approach, which should be followed on three main strands: a significant re-examination of the normative solutions provided by the Defence Directive in a new iteration; the implementation of a unitary EU-wide mechanism for security of information; a sui generis normative framework providing original rules for collaborative cross-border R&D projects with a procurement component, modelled on the essential principles and values established in the Fundamental Treaties.