defense industry
EU wants to boost production of ammunition and missiles
Financial incentives are to be used to encourage the European armaments industry to rapidly expand production capacities. photo
© Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
The EU states are having difficulties in supplying Ukraine with sufficient ammunition and missiles for the defensive war against Russia. The bottlenecks should now be counteracted – with a lot of money.
In the long term, the Ukrainian armed forces can expect significantly more ammunition and missile deliveries from the hope EU. During the night, representatives of the governments of the member states and the European Parliament agreed on a plan with which the European defense industry is to be given financial incentives to rapidly expand production capacities. It was proposed by the EU Commission in May and envisages spending 500 million euros from the EU budget.
The agreement is further evidence of the EU’s tireless commitment to supporting Ukraine, commented Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles for the current EU Council Presidency. It also demonstrates the commitment to strengthening the EU’s defense technological and industrial base and ensuring the long-term security and defense of EU citizens.
The background to the project is the difficulties of the EU states in supplying Ukraine with sufficient ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition and missiles for the defensive war against Russia. An expansion of production should now prevent further bottlenecks in the Ukrainian armed forces and also ensure that the EU states remain capable of defending themselves and can keep sufficient supplies.
The agreement still has to be formally confirmed by the Council of Member States and Parliament. After the official adoption of the regulation, it could come into force before the end of July, according to EU information.