The parliamentarians of the European Union supported the bill on increasing the production of ammunition in the EU to replenish their own stocks and supply Ukraine in the medium and long term.
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On June 1, 446 MEPs passed the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP). 67 MPs voted against, 112 abstained, writes DW.
The legislative proposal came from the European Commission and contains measures to urgently increase the ability of the EU defense industry to supply Ukraine with surface-to-surface munitions, artillery shells and rockets. It is planned to invest 500 million euros in increasing their production by June 30, 2025 from EU funds.
Financial support is allocated for the creation of new production facilities, the optimization, expansion, modernization or re-profiling of existing facilities, the retraining and advanced training of workers, the establishment of cross-border industrial partnerships, including public-private ones, in order, for example, to provide access to strategic components and raw materials.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed a serious consequence of decades of defense underfunding, which has affected industrial capacity and supply chains, said Estonian MP Sven Mikser.
Thus, the European Parliament gave the green light to the third part of the plan for joint procurement of ammunition in the European Union. Now it must be approved by the EU Council.
Recall that in March, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell presented a program of three parts. It was about the allocation of a billion euros from the European Peace Fund (EPF) to replenish the national reserves of EU countries that are ready to transfer ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The second point of the plan provides for the development of a joint coordinated approach to the procurement of artillery shells to replenish Ukraine’s own stocks and ammunition in the medium term. The third part of the plan is to increase the capacity of the defense industry in the EU countries to cover the needs of their armies and help Ukraine.
Source: Racurs
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