The evolution of the contemporary geopolitical landscape, marked by the resurgence of military tensions along EU eastern borders and the growing instability of the international order, has brought the legal regulation of the defense market back to the forefront of academic and institutional debate. In this context, public procurement law in the military sector emerges as a field of tension between the imperative to safeguard state sovereignty and the need to establish a transparent, competitive, and efficient regulatory framework at the supranational level. This dissertation seeks to examine the legal foundations of defense procurement regimes within the EU, analyzing the scope and the limitations of the Directive 2009/81/EC, as well as its relationship with the EU law and the established practices of its Member States. The analysis extends to the US federal law, adopting a comparative perspective aimed to identify the asymmetries between the two regulatory models and their implications for competition and collective security. A central aspect of this inquiry concerns the extent to which defense procurement may constitute a regulatory barrier to transatlantic trade in military materials. While the EU’s regulatory framework proclaims principles of non-discrimination, it lends itself to restrictive interpretations that, in practice, may reinforce protectionist measures favoring the EE defense industry. This dynamic manifests itself not only in public procurement in the strict sense but also in alternative contractual practices such as Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements and offset contracts, which, despite partially escaping harmonized regulation, prove to be decisive instruments in the procurement strategies adopted by the states. From a theoretical perspective, this research challenges the dichotomy between State sovereignty and legal integration, highlighting the tensions between the principle of strategic autonomy and the EU aspirations toward a unified regulatory framework in the defense sector. Furthermore, it critically examines the suitability of the legal basis chosen for the Defense Directive, in the light of the principle of consistency of EU law and in the light of the fundamental role that national security plays in the architecture of the modern State. The ultimate objective of this study is to propose regulatory solutions inspired by an internationalist and comparative perspective, capable of reconciling the sovereign prerogatives of States with a legal governance model that could ensure a balance between security, competition, and international cooperation. In this regard, the dissertation aims to outline a more coherent and functional regulatory framework, capable of addressing the dual imperative of safeguarding national security while preventing the crystallization of legal obstacles that could hinder free international trade in the defense sector. This reflection, situated at the intersection of law and politics, aspires to offer a critical contribution to the legal debate over the regulation of the arms market, with an outlook that extends beyond existing legal frameworks to explore possible trajectories de iure condendo.
L’evoluzione del contesto geopolitico, segnata dall’aggressione russa all’Ucraina e dalla rinnovata centralità delle strategie di difesa in Europa, ha messo in luce l’importanza critica del settore degli appalti militari. Tale settore, pur essendo essenziale per la sicurezza nazionale, si caratterizza per una marcata frammentazione normativa e per una interazione complessa tra diritto nazionale, europeo ed internazionale. Questa dissertazione si propone di analizzare il regime giuridico degli appalti e dei contratti della difesa in UE e in USA, esaminando le implicazioni normative, economiche e strategiche che ne derivano. La ricerca si concentra sull’analisi della Direttiva 2009/81/CE (Direttiva Difesa) e sul suo impatto nel mercato degli armamenti, valutandone la compatibilità con il diritto UE e le conseguenze per gli Stati membri in termini di autonomia decisionale. In parallelo, viene condotta una comparazione con il diritto USA, al fine di individuare le differenze strutturali e le possibili forme di armonizzazione tra i due ordinamenti. Un’analisi specifica è dedicata agli ostacoli normativi che limitano il commercio transatlantico dei materiali d’arma, considerando sia gli appalti pubblici sia altre tipologie contrattuali, quali i contratti Government-to-Government (G2G) e i contratti di compensazione (offset). Questi ultimi, ampiamente utilizzati nei mercati della difesa, pongono spesso questioni di compatibilità con il principio di libera concorrenza promosso dall’UE e possono configurarsi come barriere normative implicite. Un’ulteriore linea di indagine è volta a verificare se il quadro normativo UE possa costituire un ostacolo occulto al commercio internazionale della difesa, con particolare riferimento alle limitazioni imposte all’accesso degli appaltatori extraeuropei. L’analisi comparatistica evidenzia come la disciplina UE, pur non esplicitando un principio Buy European, possa di fatto tradursi in una restrizione competitiva nei confronti delle industrie USA e degli altri attori globali. Infine, la tesi propone una riflessione sulle prospettive di riforma della regolamentazione UE e internazionale degli appalti della difesa. Vengono delineate alcune possibili soluzioni normative, ispirate a un approccio internazionalista e comparatistico, volte a garantire un migliore equilibrio tra esigenze di sicurezza nazionale, efficienza economica e apertura dei mercati della difesa. L’obiettivo ultimo è quello di fornire un contributo al dibattito accademico e istituzionale sulla regolamentazione giuridica degli appalti militari, proponendo strategie che possano conciliare le prerogative sovrane degli Stati con la necessità di un’integrazione regolamentata e competitiva del mercato globale della difesa.
I contratti e gli appalti nell'industria militare. Analisi comparatistica della normativa UE, USA e internazionale
ZIZZARI, Massimo
2025
Abstract
The evolution of the contemporary geopolitical landscape, marked by the resurgence of military tensions along EU eastern borders and the growing instability of the international order, has brought the legal regulation of the defense market back to the forefront of academic and institutional debate. In this context, public procurement law in the military sector emerges as a field of tension between the imperative to safeguard state sovereignty and the need to establish a transparent, competitive, and efficient regulatory framework at the supranational level. This dissertation seeks to examine the legal foundations of defense procurement regimes within the EU, analyzing the scope and the limitations of the Directive 2009/81/EC, as well as its relationship with the EU law and the established practices of its Member States. The analysis extends to the US federal law, adopting a comparative perspective aimed to identify the asymmetries between the two regulatory models and their implications for competition and collective security. A central aspect of this inquiry concerns the extent to which defense procurement may constitute a regulatory barrier to transatlantic trade in military materials. While the EU’s regulatory framework proclaims principles of non-discrimination, it lends itself to restrictive interpretations that, in practice, may reinforce protectionist measures favoring the EE defense industry. This dynamic manifests itself not only in public procurement in the strict sense but also in alternative contractual practices such as Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements and offset contracts, which, despite partially escaping harmonized regulation, prove to be decisive instruments in the procurement strategies adopted by the states. From a theoretical perspective, this research challenges the dichotomy between State sovereignty and legal integration, highlighting the tensions between the principle of strategic autonomy and the EU aspirations toward a unified regulatory framework in the defense sector. Furthermore, it critically examines the suitability of the legal basis chosen for the Defense Directive, in the light of the principle of consistency of EU law and in the light of the fundamental role that national security plays in the architecture of the modern State. The ultimate objective of this study is to propose regulatory solutions inspired by an internationalist and comparative perspective, capable of reconciling the sovereign prerogatives of States with a legal governance model that could ensure a balance between security, competition, and international cooperation. In this regard, the dissertation aims to outline a more coherent and functional regulatory framework, capable of addressing the dual imperative of safeguarding national security while preventing the crystallization of legal obstacles that could hinder free international trade in the defense sector. This reflection, situated at the intersection of law and politics, aspires to offer a critical contribution to the legal debate over the regulation of the arms market, with an outlook that extends beyond existing legal frameworks to explore possible trajectories de iure condendo.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14242/217502
URN:NBN:IT:UNIMOL-217502