The European Union (EU) has put forward several funding programmes to boost the European defence technological and industrial base. With the East-West divide growing in terms of defence industrial preparedness since the Central and Eastern European states joined the EU, extension of the benefits of this industrial strategy to less-developed Member States should be prioritised.

As the economic dimension of national security moves to the forefront, legal instruments such as investment screening are adopted to accommodate state discretion in a rule of law setting. The screening decisions of competent authorities are taken in a black box. Some may reach the public but they often pose more questions than answers. The case briefly presented here demonstrates that the state’s labelling of a company as strategic cannot be resisted, not even by its owners.

New challenges arise in the implementation of the European defence industrial strategy. Europe must appease both its allies and its companies.