The European Commission wants to boost ammunition production in Europe and promote it with one billion euros. This is good news for Ukraine, but also strengthens European defense capabilities, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday evening on the sidelines of a meeting with the new Czech President Petr Pavel in Prague. Everything is currently “about speed, speed, speed”.
Von der Leyen announced that a legislative proposal on the ammunition plan would be presented to the College of EU Commissioners today. Among other things, it should ensure that regulations are simplified and approval procedures are accelerated. According to the Commission’s proposal, 500 million euros in EU money should be made available to finance the expansion of ammunition production. According to the plans, a further 500 million euros would come as co-financing from the Member States.
Prevent bottlenecks in the Ukrainian armed forces
The background to the plans is, among other things, the promise made by the EU in March to supply Ukraine with one million new artillery shells within twelve months to fight the aggressor Russia. These are intended to prevent bottlenecks in the Ukrainian armed forces and enable them to launch new offensives against the attackers from Russia.
EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton commented on the new funding project that he was confident that production capacities in Europe could be increased to one million shots per year within twelve months. The industrial base for ammunition production in Europe is there and has the potential to meet the needs of Ukraine and member states, he said at the planned presentation of the plans on Wednesday.
But the industrial base must now be revitalized in order to adapt it to the needs of a high-intensity conflict. “When it comes to defense, our industry needs to switch to war economy mode now,” Breton said.
