The Economics of European Defence

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:

After the British referendum result in June 2016 and the US election in November of the same year, greater political effort was channelled into ways of increasing EU defence cooperation, and creating a solid European defence industry. The EU’s toolbox included a number of existing means of doing so, many made available by the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 – European defence policy comprised a series of policy measures related to a Common Security and Defence Policy, a Single Market for defence equipment, the European Defence and Technological Industrial Base and offsets. But in a constrained budgetary context, it was difficult to overlook defence economics as a driver of European defence policy. This paper suggested a number of avenues for efficiency improvements in European defence spending.

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

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