Differentiated Integration in the European Defence Field: the Italian Case.

Over the last few years there have been important initiatives to favour greater harmonization among EU member states' defence-industrial policies. However, EU countries sometimes decide to cooperate in the development of defence-industrial projects, to maintain defence procurement on a national basis or to import extra-EU armaments. To investigate the simultaneous presence of cooperation and competition, focusing on how the process of differentiated integration shapes European defence-industrial governance, this paper assesses Italian participation in two major European armaments organizations (OCCAR and the European Defence Agency), as well in two new EU initiatives in this sector (PeSCo and the European Defence Fund). Specifically, this analysis focuses on national state-arms industry relations as a crucial explanatory variable in the formation of Italy's preferences towards defence-industrial cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]