Four Proposals for a Defence Procurement Plan for the European Union

The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) is one of the main independent European Think Tanks on geopolitical and strategic issues.

IRIS, a public-interest association created in 1991, is a French think tank on geopolitical and strategic issues. It is the only international think tank to have been set up as a totally private initiative in an independent approach. IRIS activities can be divided into four fields: research, organisation of events and meetings, publishing and training.

The Armament Industry European Research Group (Ares Group) was created in 2016 by The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), who coordinates the Group. The aim of the Ares Group, a high-level network of security and defence specialists across Europe, is to provide a forum to the European armament community, bringing together top defence industrial policy specialists, to encourage fresh strategic thinking in the field, develop innovative policy proposals and conduct studies for public and private actors.Abstract:

European defence and armament, as it existed in 2016, had been built under the impetus of France and Germany. It was however only made possible with the consent of the British, symbolised by the St Malo French‐British summit in 1998. Since January 1, 2003, European defence could lead military operations; it defined the resources necessary to these operations – namely, the Headline Goals – and it had at its disposal a body, the European Defence Agency, tasked with addressing capability gaps that have been identified with the ultimate goal to launch European cooperative armament programmes.

• Primary Source

IRIS: ARES – Armament Industry European Research Group http://www.iris-france.org/ares/

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