EU approves joint ammunition procurement plan

Romania is a participant in a EU plan to replenish national ammunition stocks and supply Ukraine

Eugen Coroianu, 21.03.2023, 13:50

On Monday the European Union
approved a EUR 2 bln plan to procure and supply ammunition to Ukraine, sources
in Brussels announced. The 3-stage plan is designed to supply Ukrainian forces
with at least one million 155-millimeter artillery shells in the coming 12
months, and to replenish member states’ stockpiles, some of which are depleting
quickly.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro
Kuleba, who attended the meeting of his EU counterparts via conference call, has
welcomed the support. More artillery ammunition for Ukraine as fast as
possible. This will bolster Ukraine’s capabilities on the battlefield, Kuleba said
in a Twitter post.

The plan, which is to be signed off
by EU leaders at the summit on March 23-24, answers an urgent request made by
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy early
this month.

EUR 1 bln will be used to reimburse
EU members that immediately supply Ukraine with ammunition from their own
existing stockpiles, at EUR 1,000-1,300 per shell. The current price for such
ammunition is EUR 4,000 and growing. Another EUR 1 bln will be used to place
joint ammunition orders for Ukraine.

The contracts are due in September,
and the goal is to shorten the deadline for purchase and delivery to 6-8 months.

A third stage of the plan concerns
increasing production capacities with 12 EU weapons producers, to restock member
states and to carry on supplying the Ukrainian forces. The EUR 2 bln will be
earmarked under the European Peace Facility, an inter-government fund created
by the member states outside of the EU budget and used since the start of the
war to supply weapons to Ukraine.

Seventeen of the 27 member states,
plus Norway, will take part in the programme in a first stage, and Romania is
one of them. It is a historic decision, said the EU diplomacy chief Josep
Borrell, who came up with the initiative. The framework, outlined by the European
Defence Agency, is flexible and allows us to replenish national military
stockpiles and to help Ukraine, he emphasised.

Also on Monday, the US announced
authorising a further USD 350 million in military aid to Ukraine, which
includes ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS and howitzers. Russia alone could
end its war today. Until Russia does, we will stand united with Ukraine for as
long as it takes, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Monday. (AMP)