BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - According to a press report, the German government wants to take several steps to support the ramp-up of the arms industry. The Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Defense are working on a strategy paper that lists seven measures in a draft, reported the "Handelsblatt". These include direct state involvement in other strategically important companies or projects.

In addition, armaments projects could be classified as projects of overriding public interest in order to speed up approval procedures. The so-called civil clause, which until now has excluded measures with a military application, could be removed. Start-ups should be able to access venture capital more easily and the European Investment Bank (EIB) should provide more money for military-related projects.

Government circles have confirmed such plans to the German Press Agency. These are concrete considerations, but they still have to be coordinated between all the departments involved and are also subject to review.

One example of an existing state investment is the defence electronics group Hensoldt, which has been listed on the stock market since autumn 2020. Shortly after the Borsengang, the federal government acquired a stake in Hensoldt for strategic reasons and now holds just over a quarter of the shares.

In the north, the marine company Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) wants to become independent. This raises hopes of the emergence of a shipyard giant in German naval shipbuilding. Thyssenkrupp and the US investment company Carlyle have embarked on an in-depth examination and evaluation of the German group's marine division. This involves a possible partial sale of TKMS to Carlyle. At the same time, talks are underway with the German government regarding the state's participation in Thyssenkrupp's naval business./cn/DP/jha