Security Market Integration in Europe

This paper map and analyses the integration of the security market in Europe. In particular, it analyses how, through EU initiatives and industry efforts, technology and security have become interlinked. The paper points to the EU research projects conducted under the 7^th Framework Programme (FP7) as instances where these different components (EU/security industry; technology/security) assemble. It is argued that the choice for the programme’s direction and specific research projects can be characterised best as an ad-hoc process that is, in important ways, technological and industry driven. On the other hand, however, this paper observes that a vast majority of the FP7 security projects, in fact, fail to materialise into clear policy initiatives or functioning technologies. The paper’s conceptual contribution, therefore, lies within downplaying somewhat the dominant view that security research and technology effectively alter EU governing in the field of internal security.