A transatlantic defence market, forever elusive?

Despite close political and military ties across the Atlantic, defence markets are fragmented by burdensome export controls and government reluctance to buy equipment from abroad. For the US, the current state of affairs is sustainable, although very inefficient. But in Europe, defence budgets have become too small to maintain national industries and the survival of the European defence industrial base is at risk. As the economic crisis forces transatlantic allies to cut defence spending, Clara Marina O’Donnell argues that European governments must stop shielding unsustainable national defence industries. In addition, current EU and US reforms to loosen export controls should be more ambitious and co-ordinated.