Background
The Patria case has a European and NATO horizon, and it cannot be understood outside this horizon. First, the rush to modernize the infantry armored vehicles for most Western armies since 2002. Second, the consolidation of the European armored vehicles suppliers through General Dynamics acquisitions. Third, the commercial war between General Dynamics and Patria in this field. Last, the peculiar status of arms deals that implies state secret protection on arms trade and on their collateral agreements. However, the abuse of secrecy to conceal unlawful practices such as fake offset agreement, (equivalent to bribery) is not a Slovenian issue, but a real European problem. The Patria case is a chance to look at what happens in the most politically sensitive and covered areas of Western democracies: arms and state security.
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