• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Raluca Csernatoni",
    "Bruno Oliveira Martins"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Transatlantic Cooperation"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "EP",
  "programs": [
    "Europe"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Europe",
    "Western Europe",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other
Carnegie Europe

The European Defense Fund: Key Issues and Controversies

The European Defense Fund holds the potential to fundamentally challenge the nature of the EU as a peace project.

Link Copied
By Raluca Csernatoni and Bruno Oliveira Martins
Published on Mar 1, 2019
Program mobile hero image

Program

Europe

The Europe Program in Washington explores the political and security developments within Europe, transatlantic relations, and Europe’s global role. Working in coordination with Carnegie Europe in Brussels, the program brings together U.S. and European policymakers and experts on strategic issues facing Europe.

Learn More

Source: Peace Research Institute Oslo

The recently-launched European Defence Fund (EDF) is a ground-breaking investment in the areas of security and defence and holds the potential to fundamentally challenge the nature of the European Union (EU) as a peace project.

Proponents of the EDF frame the initiative as crucial to European security in an age of increasing political instability and rapid technological change. As such, the EDF is framed as a much-needed catalyst for scaling up the EU’s defence by conferring strategic autonomy to Europe, and overhauling a lagging European Defence Technological and Industrial Base.

To achieve these goals, the EDF stresses the need to optimise strategic value for money by funding cutting-edge research and innovation and by fostering the development of interoperable defence capabilities. However, the EDF also raises important questions about EU’s political priorities, output legitimacy, and security and defence governance.

Read Full Text

This policy brief was originally published by the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO).

About the Authors

Raluca Csernatoni

Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Raluca Csernatoni is a fellow at Carnegie Europe, where she specializes on European security and defense, as well as emerging disruptive technologies.

Bruno Oliveira Martins

Bruno Oliveira Martins is a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo in Norway.

Authors

Raluca Csernatoni
Fellow, Carnegie Europe
Raluca Csernatoni
Bruno Oliveira Martins

Bruno Oliveira Martins is a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo in Norway.

Bruno Oliveira Martins
SecurityEuropeWestern EuropeIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    European Sycophancy Worked on Trump

    Nearly a year and a half after Europeans leaned into sucking up to Trump, the strategy has produced some benefits when it comes to Ukraine.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

  • Romania Bulgaria Turkey Black Sea naval
    Commentary
    How NATO Became Anchored in the Black Sea

    As Russia's war on Ukraine drags on, NATO is expanding its footprint in the Black Sea. Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria are upgrading their fleets and deepening trilateral cooperation.

      Dimitar Bechev

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Le Pen Verdict: How French Politics Turned MAGA

    Far-right leader Marine Le Pen can—and will—run in France’s next presidential election. What does the outcome of her appeal against a 2025 embezzlement conviction mean for the country’s political future?

      Catherine Fieschi

  • Article
    From Hormuz to the Maghreb: The Geopolitical Reach of a Gulf Crisis

    Morocco and Algeria, each in its own way, are having to navigate the global economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

      Yasmine Zarhloule

  • Paper
    Securing America’s Near Abroad: Recalibrating U.S. Policy Toward Haiti

    Helping to stabilize Haiti is in the United States’ national interest and can be done by making wise use of various foreign policy tools in addition to supporting international security forces.

      Christopher Shell

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.