Saab looks to new horizons

The global defence market could become tougher for Europe in the future, said Clara O'Donnell, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank. O'Donnell said she believes it will become more difficult for EU countries to compete for sales of high-end technology products, given the 7-to-1 ratio in research and development spending between the United States and the European Union. She said Europe and European companies should focus on innovative solutions that are not so high-tech. In the longer term, O'Donnell said, Sweden's reliance on complicated offsets to secure export sales could be a potential problem, given the EU code of conduct on offsets. The EU policy may force companies like Saab to change their business model, O'Donnell said.