The European Defence Agency: A Success Story : A Qualitative Analysis On The Integration Efforts by the European Defence Agency

Abstract: European integration has always been a subject of research and discussion. With the implementation of the European Defence Agency in 2004, the European Union expanded itself into an unknown territory, the defence sector. With the establishment of the EDA, questions can be asked surrounding its implications and whether it will be a success story. This thesis aims to answer this question by understanding whether integration has been successful within this new agency and whether the Member States’ have been positive towards it. A qualitative content analysis will be conducted to answer how far integration have been achieved and whether the Member States has received it well. The result of this study was that: Integration has come a long way within the EDA, as the Member States are cooperating within the newly established EDA through its many collaborative projects and initiatives. Furthermore, defence, Research and Technology as well as defence procurement expenditure has risen over the years, which can be translated into the fact that EDA has been a success story and the integration has achieved high levels.