European Union negotiators reached a deal in the early hours of Friday to accelerate the production of munition and missiles in Europe to urgently deliver Ukraine.
“We have a deal,” Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for Internal Market, said on Twitter early on Friday.
“In only two months, Europe agreed on a historic programme ASAP to finance the ramp-up of its defence industrial base to support Ukraine and the security of Europe,” he added.
Given the urgency in providing Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself against the Russian invasion and successfully mount its counteroffensive, the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), which was first proposed by the Commission in early May, was fast-tracked through the EU legislative process.
Margarita Robles, minister of defence for Spain, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, said that the rapid deal “is yet another proof of the EU’s unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine, strengthening the EU’s defence technological and industrial base, and ultimately ensuring the long term security and defence of EU citizens.”
Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the agreement, saying it “will speed up the delivery of ammunition to Ukraine at this crucial stage of the war.”
ASAP is part of the EU’s three-track plan to provide Ukraine with the one million ammunition rounds it needs over the coming year and to replenish member states’ quickly depleting stockpiles.
Under the first track, EU member states committed €1 billion worth of ammunition from their remaining stocks while track two provided for the joint orders of an additional €1 billion worth of ammunition.
ASAP, or track three, will see €500 million in EU funds dedicated to bolstering the bloc’s industrial production capacities for ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition as well as missiles. It also introduces a temporary regulatory framework to address what the Commission has branded an “ammunition supply crisis”.
The money will be disbursed to eligible EU companies in the form of grants so they can ramp up production and tackle bottlenecks with the EU hoping that its funds will stimulate private investments for a total of up to €1 billion.
