In the EDTIB we trust(?)

Abstract

The European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) is considered as a key element in the quest for a European Security and Defence Union. The EDTIB strategy initiated in 2007 aimed to lead to greater integration of the fragmented national defence industries of EU member-states, achieve economies through the coordination of defence industrial policy, the pooling of resources in the production and acquisition of weapons systems and better serve the political objectives of European defence. The paper examines the extent to which EU27 member-states satisfy their demand for arms through the procurement of EDTIB origin defence inputs. Moreover, it explores whether a process of convergence is present in terms of the share of EDTIB origin imports in the total arms imports of the EU member-states. The presence or not of a convergence process is examined empirically using β- and club convergence methodologies. In broad terms, the findings point to a process of convergence albeit at different speeds, as indicated by the club-convergence analysis. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.