Harmonized EU Arms Exports Policies in Times of Austerity?

The study analyzes the current trends on the international arms market and the role EU Member States play as well as the adherence to the Criteria of the EU Common Position. It also takes a closer look at the effects of austerity measures on the European defense industry and the shift towards non-European markets. While EU Member States trying to overcome the financial and economic crisis, which has effects on the defense budgets, countries in the Middle East and Asia are continuing to modernize their military forces. EU Member States play a vital role in supplying military equipment to a number of countries. European defense companies are confronted with a situation in which the global arms market has increasingly become a buyers’ market with states being able to acquire weapons from all around the world. Arms producers are faced with these demands by the recipient country which, as a consequence, leads to much more than just the transfer of military goods and weapons, but also to the provision of services and training and even the support in establishing own production capacities in the recipient countries.