The European Union is giving a considerable boost to its military deliveries to Ukraine. This is the concrete response to the pressing demands formulated on February 9 at the European summit by Volodymyr Zelensky when he came to Brussels.
With our correspondent in Brussels,Pierre Benazet
The European Union will deliver ammunition en masse to Ukraine, but it will also buy and produce it to replenish its own stocks. This is the result of an agreement between the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs who met together on Monday March 20 in Brussels.
In the words of the head of his diplomacy, Josep Borrell, the European Union has broken a taboo. After saying that there would be no EU money for armaments, now there will not only be funding for the delivery of weapons, but also for their acquisition and manufacture.
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It is the concrete start of ” the war economy now recommended by the European Commission. The first part of the Union’s response to Ukraine’s urgent military needs is the delivery of ammunition, in particular 155mm artillery shells, but also ammunition for anti-aircraft defence.
One million shells provided
A billion euros is on the table to reimburse EU states for such ammunition that they will have been able to deliver to Ukraine by May 31. With a reimbursement rate of around 50%, it will therefore be a question of delivering ammunition to him for a value of 2 billion euros by this same date. In addition, over twelve months, the Union has set itself the objective of supplying one million shells to Ukraine.
The second component is joint purchasing. Another billion euros will be put on the table for contracts signed jointly by groups of countries to help Ukraine. These contracts must be signed by the end of September, via the EU defense agency with European industry.
The third component is the long-term revival of production. European industrialists will have to receive the guarantee that contracts will multiply.