EU has prepared plan to produce 1 million shells for Ukraine and its own stockpiles

This was stated by European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, according to European Pravda.

The European Commission's plan, which will be unveiled on Wednesday, May 3, calls for the use of 500 million euros from the EU budget to increase ammunition production. The funds will be used to finance new production lines for howitzer shells and rockets, increase gunpowder production, and modernize old ammunition.

Funds from the EU budget will finance about 50% of the projectile production projects, and member states will have to find the other half. Thus, the total cost of the plan will be €1 billion.

"When it comes to defence, our industry must now switch to war economy mode. I am confident that within 12 months we will be able to increase our production capacity to one million rounds per year in Europe," Breton emphasized.

"The act we are proposing is unprecedented. It aims to directly support, with EU money, the ramp-up of our defence industry for Ukraine and for our own security," he added.

The European Commissioner acknowledged that the EU defense industry "does not have the scale today to meet the security needs of Ukraine and our member states." "But it has the potential to do so," Breton said.

The decision to be proposed by the European Commission on May 3 should be the last step in the implementation of the EU's plan to provide Kyiv with artillery shells to counter a full-scale Russian invasion.

• Earlier, the EU had promised to spend €2 billion to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells over the next year by using stockpiles and placing joint orders. But this plan is currently stalled due to a dispute among member states over whether funds can be allocated to producers outside the EU.