Three elements are seen important for this debate:

– NATO needs capabilities to fulfil its missions. The defence and security industry is the primary provider for these capabilities and in the context of the declining defence budgets, the North Atlantic Council launched the Framework for NATO-Industry Engagement.

– NATO needs better dialogue and cooperation inside the enterprise, and between NATO, nations and industry. The monopsony of the nations as the sole customers for the defence industry, which they also regulate, protect and promote, sometime challenges the idea that industry is inherently driven by, and has to generate profit. These apparently contradictory drivers would justify additional efforts to identify the points of significantly converging interests for NATO, nations and industry.

– If and when crises occur, NATO, nations and industry are ‘in the same boat’. NATO resilience builds upon Allies' resilience, which these days means increasingly industry's resilience. Moreover, when referring to critical infrastructure protection, more often than not industry is the critical infrastructure.