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Ukrainian soldiers with French 155mm howitzer
Photo: ARIS MESSINIS / AFP
The EU Commission wants to boost ammunition production in Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen's authority has submitted a plan to the member states, which is intended not only to ensure the supply of Ukraine in the defense against the Russian invasion, but also to fill up the stocks in the EU countries.
According to the discussion paper that the commission presented to the committee of ambassadors of the member countries on Wednesday and that is available to SPIEGEL, the plan contains three pillars.
The
first pillar
provides for an immediate increase in the supply of ammunition, in particular 155-mm artillery shells, to Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will soon propose an additional support package worth EUR 1 billion for the supply of ammunition, primarily 155mm grenades.
The
second pillar
envisages a joint purchase of 155mm ammunition by the European Defense Agency EDA in order to fill the gaps in the stocks of the EU countries and to ensure the supply of Ukraine in the long term.
The
third pillar
is intended to secure the long-term increase in European ammunition production capacities in order to take account of the changed security situation.
The emergency aid of the first pillar is to follow the already established pattern: the EU states supply Ukraine and receive money from the European Peace Facility (EPF) in return.
Its financial cover has already been increased three times by EUR 500 million each, and in December it was decided to increase it to EUR 2 billion.
As soon as it is carried out, the additional one billion euros that Borrell is to propose will come.
The time of peace is over
The second pillar of the plan contains a clear message: the time when peace in Europe was believed to be secure is over.
The situation has fundamentally changed with Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the EU states should take this into account - by acquiring larger quantities of ammunition in the long term.
This should succeed with the help of a project by the EDA.
The member countries and the Ukraine should throw their collected needs into the balance here in order to "place a massive order and give the industry a clear demand signal," says the paper.
According to the Commission, only if the industry is sure that there is such a demand will it be willing to increase its production capacities in the long term.
Procurement could be modeled after the procurement agency Occar, which has already handled joint armament projects such as the A400M military transport aircraft.
The states could register their needs there, and the agency would then negotiate the contracts.
Alternatively, a "leading nation" could take on this role and buy ammunition for the other countries involved, the paper says.
For the part that is delivered to Ukraine, there should then be compensation from the EPF.
The Commission also hopes that the joint order will result in significantly lower prices than before.
25 of the 27 EU countries and Norway have already expressed an interest in participating in the project, which will run for seven years.
In the third pillar, the basic problem is to be tackled: the “rapidly dwindling” ammunition stocks of the EU states and their inadequate capacities for the production of supplies – which are now to be “quickly increased”.
However, the Commission leaves little doubt that it sees itself more in the role of mediator and organizer, for example by identifying gaps in production capacities and helping with procurement.
Von der Leyen's authority sees the actual responsibility in the industry and the governments of the EU states.
Russians fire ten times more shells than Ukrainians
Such plans are not entirely new.
Last November, Borrell and EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton proposed joint ammunition purchasing based on the model of the procurement of corona vaccines.
However, her letter to the EU defense ministers remained largely without consequences.
It was only when the Estonian head of government, Kaja Kallas, brought up the idea again at the summit in early February that things got going.
This time, the Commission is not afraid of problems similar to those when purchasing vaccines - because unlike the Covid vaccines, 155 millimeter ammunition is not a product that has yet to be developed.
That's why the main thing is to signal the industry that there is a secure need.
In addition, the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainians is now even more precarious than it was last fall.
Not only does the Commission emphasize this several times in its purchasing plan, it is also in a confidential discussion paper from the Estonian Defense Ministry, which SPIEGEL has seen.
Accordingly, Russia fires 20,000 to 60,000 artillery shells per day, around ten times more than Ukraine.
However, Europe's defense industry can only produce 20,000 to 25,000 shells per month.
However, the Estonians estimate, based on information from the armaments industry, that this number could be increased sevenfold.
As early as this year, the production of one million 155 millimeter grenades is possible, the costs would be around four billion euros.
The Commission does not want to confirm whether this is realistic.
The Estonians, on the other hand, call for more speed in their paper.
It would take "extraordinary efforts" and "quick decisions" to boost ammunition procurement this year - "that requires the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine."
