EU Commissioner believes in timely launch of production of one million shells per year: says what is needed to transfer them to Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Currently, 40% of weapons produced in the EU go to third countries. In order for Ukraine to receive this ammunition, contracts and political will are needed, the European Commissioner points out
By the spring of 2024, the production capacity of defense companies in the EU will reach one million artillery shells per year. In order to transfer the produced ammunition to Ukraine, the EU countries should prioritize production for Ukraine, and the issue is the situation with contracts. This was stated by European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton on November 21 to MEPs in the European Parliament, UNN reports with reference to DW.
Details
According to his estimates, by the end of 2024, this number will even reach 1.3-1.4 million shells. Breton noted that he came to this conclusion after visiting military-industrial companies in 15 EU countries.
At the same time, he said, "the problem lies in the situation with contracts in general," as about 40% of products leave Europe and go to third countries. And in order for all produced ammunition to be transferred to Ukraine, EU countries should prioritize production for Ukraine. According to the European Commissioner, this was his initial proposal, but it was not supported by the EU Council.
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In addition, EU member states are not signing enough contracts for the production of shells, he said.
We are building a European defense market step by step. The signing of the contracts will allow us to accelerate our deliveries to Ukraine, Breton said.
As the European Commissioner emphasized, production is accelerating, the EU can quickly create additional capacity, but the political will to supply Ukraine must be in the first place.
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Addendum
The EU and its member states have already provided Ukraine with 27 billion euros in military aid, an unprecedented amount. In late March 2022, European Council President Charles Michel said: "Our goal is to supply Ukraine with one million rounds of ammunition over the next 12 months. This joint EU initiative is an important new step towards a truly European defense."
To ensure the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the EU has invested 2 billion euros from the European Peace Fund. At least 300,000 units of ammunition have already been delivered to Ukraine from EU stockpiles. As for the new joint purchases, Brussels reported that the countries have signed new contracts, but the European Commission has not yet provided data on their total amount, DW notes.
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