Governing Defense Procurement: Strengthening the EU’s Defense Technological & Industrial Base

The regulatory framework concerning defense procurement has evolved considerably since the start of the millennium. In addition to the general Public Procurement Directive and the Defense Procurement Directive, the European Commission recently formulated a proposal for a Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). Nonetheless, defense sector particularities continue to produce tensions in public procurement, and significant blind spots remain. In view of policy objectives to strengthen the European Defense Technological & Industrial Base (EDTIB), it is necessary to first study the current state of EU defense procurement. To that end, we perform an analysis of 14,207 EU27-tenders spanning the period 2009-2020. In addition, a case study approach investigates six tender procedures by the Belgian military, establishing material points of note. Key insights include: (1) the number of defense procurement procedures won by third country bidders is limited, (2) tenders won by non-EU27-tenderers are larger and less competitive on average, and (3) an overly strong focus on price efficiency in public procurement award procedures inhibits attaining EDTIB goals. In short, the data shows a chasm between stated policy aims of strengthening the EDTIB through positive action in public procurement, on the one hand, and public procurement practices, on the other.