The EU awaits an agreement to send its ammunition to Ukraine and advance the joint purchase plan
The European Union’s Defense and Foreign Ministers hope to close an agreement on Monday to send ammunition from their own arsenals to Ukraine and advance the joint purchase plan to replenish their stocks and guarantee a sustainable supply of 155-mm artillery ammunition. What Kiev needs to defend against the Russian invasion.
At the meeting, the ministers are expected to give their approval to the extraordinary support package of 1,000 million proposed by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, to finance the shipment of artillery ammunition from the arsenals of the armies Europeans. With the aim of supplying howitzers as quickly as possible, Borrell asks to pull from his own arsenals and later finance his replacement. In this way, the aim is to encourage the mobilization of stocks that, in any case, are below minimums due to the support provided to Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion more than a year ago now and the enormous consumption of artillery pieces on the front. . In order to guarantee the consensus of the Twenty-seven, the European diplomacy plan is being adapted in such a way that the EU will finance all types of ammunition, both Soviet-made and Western-made.
In the section on joint purchases of 155 caliber ammunition, the Member States support in principle the initiative to finance the joint procurement plan with another 1,000 million.
However, until the last minute, details such as whether to give a central role to the European Defense Agency (EDA) are discussed, as Borrell wants to have a truly pan-European project, or are coalitions of countries that they renegotiate contracts with the arms industry and redirect ongoing orders to cover the needs of more countries and also to supply material to the Ukrainian forces.
The EDA defends that it has its specific work teams to make joint purchases, although it has never faced a task of this magnitude, so it estimates that the orders could be available in approximately a year. Germany defends the most agile way of purchasing by European countries, adapting the contracts already closed with the industry.
More problematic is the third leg of the plan, the one related to the increase in European industrial production. This requires orders and important long-term investments, which is why a more concrete plan from the European Commission is expected from the Twenty-seven to take steps in this direction. (EFE)
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