The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies

5 July 2012

The final report of the Study on Civil Military Synergies in the field of Security has been approved by the client. The Study was performed by a consortium led by Ecorys and TNO, with HCSS having the largest work share. HCSS was responsible for the compilation and final editing of the report. The (interim) results of the Study have already been used by the DG Enterprise and Industry in their policy process. In addition, the outcomes of the Study have been presented to committees that deal with the program of work for the EU Framework Programme and for the European Defence Agency.

One conclusion of the study is that, despite the fact that there is a clear rationale and opportunity for exploiting synergies between the military and civil security domains, surprisingly few products are deliberately designed for both markets from the outset (preconceived spin-offs). Despite the conceptual blurring of ‘defence’ and ‘security’, both domains/markets differ significantly, rendering synergies more difficult than might be expected. An important recommendation therefore read that “to foster military – civil security synergies, the European Commission could promote best practices with respect to a ‘capability based approach’ for civil security amongst the Member States, building upon various national initiatives already under way. This should lead to a process of establishing shared defence-security technology and capability road maps and, eventually, joint R&D efforts to implement these roadmaps.”

According to the customer, the final report will soon be published on its website.

With its leading participation in this study, HCSS has strengthened its knowledge and track record regarding the European Defence and Security Technological and Industrial Base; as well as its visibility in ‘Brussels’.

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