The Emergence of the European Defence Research Programme

This chapter examines the emergence of the European Commission’s defense research initiative. It traces the development of a particular narrative on security, innovation, research and economic growth from Servan-Schreiber’s 1960s fears about the transatlantic security technology gap and argues that this narrative became deeply embedded in successive research programs most notably ESPRIT from the 1980s and the security research agenda that began in the 7th Framework Programme, which in turn have shaped the defense research program. The chapter then looks at the claims made by the proponents of defense research funding finding there are three interlocked claims: a technology gap or strategic autonomy claim, an economic and technological benefits claim and a security imperative argument. The chapter goes on to argue that not all these factors can be satisfied in this defense research program and that difficult trade-offs will need to be made. It concludes by asserting that these decisions have to be made with a realistic assessment of the state of the EDTIB, otherwise, the chapter will argue that this risks creating perverse incentives for member states in defense industrial policy and thus may not aid the development of the CSDP in the way it is intended.