Has the 2008 Financial Crisis Been an Engine Fostering the Integration Process in EU Security and Defense Policies?

The impacts of the 2008 financial crisis on Euro-Atlantic economies have been great. Defense spending along with other domestic spending have been diminished by most EU Member States. In the case of the EU, the Eurozone crisis has led to the collapse of several economies in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, known as the PIIGS-as well as in northern European economies like France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. “Defence budgets in Europe are constrained, limiting the ability to develop, deploy and sustain military capabilities” (European Council 2013). This new reality has stretched the continuity and future of the European defense project.