# 9 1 - C O M M E N

How do they see this new role that the EU, and the Commission in particular, are in the process of acquiring? What is their perception of the EU's toolbox for supporting the EDTIB? To answer these questions, the Ares Group has decided to launch a series of seven papers (comments) on as many European countries. [...] Keywords: Germany / EU / Defence Industry / European Commission / EDF / EDA / European Defence 1 These initiatives are in addition to those carried out under the framework of the European Defence Agency (EDA), and include, among others, the European Defence Fund (EDF), the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the European Peace Facility (EPF), the European Defence Industry Reinforcement throu. [...] This NATO-first approach has led to a deep-rooted scepticism, particularly in the Ministry of Defence, but also in the wider security policy community, towards all efforts to strengthen the role of the EU in this area – even more so since the shock of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. [...] In its strategy paper on strengthening the security and defence industry published in 2020, the German government committed itself to "work towards greater industrial consolidation in Europe through various measures" and to "support the necessary processes within the scope of its possibilities in order to promote economic synergies and strengthen coherence”. [...] During the negotiations on the “Act in Support of Ammunition Production” (ASAP), the German government criticized that an early proposal would have given the Commission the right to intervene in the European arms market – something that the German government considered to be neither appropriate nor necessary, and most certainly not covered by the EU treaties.