The European Defence Agency in the wake of the Treaty of Lisbon

The European Defence Agency, created on 12 July 2004 through joint action (2004/551/CFSP) by the Council of Ministers, has now been included in the New EU Treaty approved in Lisbon as a key institution in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Its inclusion having been projected in the failed Constitutional Treaty, the new Treaty now affords the Agency a solid legal basis and explicitly endorses its duties in the sphere of supplying the capacities, resources and equipment which the EU needs to implement this policy. The Treaty affords an unusually high degree of importance to the Agency, since it makes no reference to the other EU agencies, and recognises the weighting which this organisation has accumulated since its creation. This ARI examines the regulatory framework set forth in the Treaty of Lisbon and compares it with the practical experience of European industrial cooperation in the last few years, evaluating its impact on military capacities and on national defence industries.