The Paris Stakeholder Workshop on the EU’s defence industrial strategy took place on December 13, 2023. The meeting, organized by the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), gathered a diverse range of policymakers from EU and French institutions, as well as representatives from the defence industry and the French armed forces. The workshop consisted of two panel discussions which focused on the EU’s actions to support the development of the European Defence Technology and Industrial Base (EDTIB).

The first panel, "The Implementation of the EU's toolbox: First success and challenges" included remarks by Edouard Simon, Policy and Legal Officer at the European Commission, Alexandre Escorcia, Head of Europe, North America and Multilateral Action at the French Ministry of Armed Forces, Nathalie Errard, Head of Europe and NATO Affairs at Airbus, and Ester Sabatino, ENGAGE researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The objective of the panel was to assess the effectiveness of the EU’s toolbox to support the development of the EDTIB, detecting advantages and pitfalls. The panel was moderated by Gaspard Schnitzler, Senior Research Fellow at IRIS.

The second panel, titled "The EDIP, the defense industrial strategy and the challenge of coherence" reflected on how the EU can better coordinate its instruments, in particular taking into account upcoming ones such as the new European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS), which the Commission is set to announce in 2024. The participants of the second panel included Caroline Bilbija, Deputy for Europe at the French Directorate General of Armament, Jean Pierre Maulny, Deputy Director of IRIS, and Alexandre Houle, Chief Strategy Officer at Thales. The panel was moderated by Federico Santopinto, Senior Research Fellow at IRIS.

Participants agreed it is essential for the EU to define strategic priorities and to develop a coherent EU capability development plan. They reflected on the importance of balancing out short term and long-term objectives, of procuring defence products from European companies, and of closing the defence investment gap in Europe.  Finally, participants discussed key issues such as stockpiling, the possibilities for the acquisition of raw materials by the European Commission, and complementarity of EU and NATO initiatives.