RESTRUCTURING THE EUROPEAN DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE

Against a background of profound change in the international security environment the domestic conditions of supply and demand in the defenc e market have altered irrevocably, forcing defence ministries to recon sider their relationships with the domestic defence industrial base wh ile simultaneously compelling defence production towards greater inter nationalisation. In this context the paper examines the emerging Europ ean defence market, evaluates the IEPG's attempt through its '' Action Plan '' to open up European defence procurement to market forces thro ugh its policy of ''juste retour'' and assesses the response of nation al defence industries to this policy. Finally, it concludes with some remarks on the problems of controlling the arms trade and the diffusio n of military-related technology in the wake of the Gulf war.