EU prepares €1 billion plan to quickly supply Ukraine with ammunition

Bloomberg reports that the proposal has three components:

• Immediate transfer of ammunition, including 155-mm artillery shells, from existing stocks or pending orders;

• use of a common procurement system to aggregate orders to European industry;

• building up Europe's industrial potential to meet current and future demand.

“All three elements are crucial to sustain our support for Ukraine moving forward,” the paper says. “All three tracks need to be pursued in parallel and as a matter of urgency.”

The EU document states that the head of the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, will first propose a EUR 1 billion package to reimburse member states that send Ukraine ammunition from their own stockpiles at a favorable rate of up to 90%.

Borrell called for the allocation of funds from the European Peace Facility to purchase 155 mm artillery shells for Ukraine. This proposal will be discussed by EU defense ministers at an informal meeting on March 7 in Stockholm.

The second pillar of the EU's plan will address Ukraine's needs through a seven-year procurement project soon to be launched under the leadership of the European Defense Agency to meet the needs of member states, ranging from small arms ammunition to 155mm shells.

The EU is also planning to propose various measures to increase production in the long term and overcome some of the problems faced by the industry to allow member states to replenish their stocks.

The issue of supplying Ukraine with missiles is expected to be on the agenda when President Joe Biden meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this week. The US is calling on its European allies to act as quickly as possible.

• Estonia, which first raised this issue earlier this year, said that EU countries should invest about EUR 4 billion to jointly purchase 1 million rounds of ammo that Ukraine needs this year.