EU hammers out €2bn ammunition plan for Ukraine
On Monday, European Union ministers will consider approving a two-billion-euro plan to raid their stockpiles and jointly purchase desperately needed artillery shells for Ukraine.
Kyiv has complained that its forces are being forced to ration their firepower as Russia's year-long invasion has devolved into a grind war.
Ukraine has told the EU that it needs 350,000 shells per month to help its troops hold off Moscow's onslaught and launch new counter-offensives later this year.
Foreign and defense ministers from the EU's 27 member countries are meeting in Brussels to discuss a multifaceted initiative aimed at speeding up supplies and strengthening their defense industries.
"Time is of the essence: we need to deliver more artillery ammunition and deliver it faster," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The first part of the plan entails committing an additional one billion euros ($1.06 billion) in shared funding to try to persuade EU member states to tap their already depleted stocks for quick-delivery ammunition.
The second part would see the EU spend another billion euros to order 155-millimetre shells for Ukraine as part of a massive joint procurement push designed to encourage firms to increase production.
Purchasing weaponry on this scale is a significant new step for the EU, which has seen long-standing efforts to work more collaboratively on defense propelled by Russia's war.
Countries have been arguing over details such as whether the EU's defense agency or member states would negotiate the orders and whether they should only buy from European producers.
EU ambassadors hammered out the remaining issues on Sunday, and diplomats hoped ministers would give their approval at their talks.
Estonia, which had originally proposed spending 4 billion euros on shells, pushed for a firm target of 1 million rounds.
Others, however, were hesitant to commit to a specific number for fear of not meeting it.
- How much do you have in stock? -
After consuming their stockpiles for a year, EU countries are questioning how much they can share immediately without exposing themselves.
"We don't know the state of their stocks, member state by member state," an EU official said, "but we believe there is still some ammunition" available.
EU countries have already committed 12 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine, with 3.6 billion euros coming from a joint fund to help cover the costs.
According to officials, 450 million euros from the fund have been used to supply 350,000 shells to Ukraine since the invasion last February.
Convincing countries that European industry can step up to produce more is critical to convincing them to deplete their stocks.
Ukraine's ammunition consumption currently far outstrips the amount manufactured by its Western backers.
According to Brussels, EU firms must shift into "war economy mode" after scaling back in the years following the Cold War's end.
The industry complains that governments have yet to sign long-term contracts that will allow them to invest in more production lines.
The EU is hoping that a massive joint order for 155-mm shells will incentivize companies to increase output.
It has begun contacting 15 ammunition manufacturers in 11 EU countries to encourage them to proceed.
Brussels has stated that it intends to remove regulatory bottlenecks, make financing more accessible, and even provide central EU funds to help boost capacity.
However, several European diplomats have expressed concern that the details of these proposals are still hazy, and that they require more assurances that they will have an impact.
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