France and Poland clashed on Wednesday as ambassadors failed to settle a dispute over who should get the EU’s joint contracts to buy Ukraine ammunition — just local firms, or also competitors elsewhere — according to three diplomats familiar with the situation.
EU ambassadors were trying to unblock an impasse over how to enact a plan to jointly purchase ammunition for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The idea is that EU countries will band together and draw money from a communal pot to help deliver Kyiv up to 1 million shells in the next 12 months.
While EU leaders have approved the scheme — and even earmarked €2 billion to fund it — countries have since run into disagreements over how to spend the €1 billion set aside for joint contracts.
The main point of contention: How much to restrict the money to EU manufacturers, and whether to include companies in places like the U.S. and U.K. France has been leading a charge to keep the money within the bloc, irking some of its EU compatriots.
The frustration boiled over during Wednesday’s gathering. The French EU ambassador accused his Polish counterpart of blaming Paris in the press for impeding a final deal, according to the three diplomats. The French official, the diplomats added, stressed that Paris is simply being pragmatic and noted that EU countries have already agreed to spend the other €1 billion on reimbursements for ammunition donations to Ukraine.
The Polish official shot back, saying France was only making the current negotiations harder.
Eventually, the Swedes stepped in, trying to find a compromise. The country controls the rotating EU presidency, giving it the mandate to hash out disagreements at the Council of the EU. Swedish officials offered an updated text, seen by POLITICO, that tried to nod to both sides.
The compromise document limited the upcoming contracts to “economic operators established in the Union and Norway,” but it included a line that the directive should not set a precedent.
Some diplomats felt the new text was moving too much in the French direction, while others grumbled it was opening new questions about which companies or subcontractors should be involved.
Still, there was some cautious optimism.
“For most member states, it is now a matter of legally verifying the new text with their capital,” one of the diplomats said. “We have a good basis for an upcoming agreement.
Yet officials conceded late Wednesday that they couldn’t get there that day.
Talks will now likely continue next week, meaning EU foreign ministers won’t have a deal in hand when they meet on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss the war. Expect some grumbling about the ongoing delays.
The joint ammunition buying plan is part of a three-stage process that EU leaders approved last month in the hopes of quickly getting Ukraine much-needed ammunition.
The first stage will feature EU countries transferring shells from their own stocks to Kyiv, while the second stage involves joint purchases. The third stage aims to ensure EU manufacturers are capable of meeting Europe’s defense needs.
The three stages, officials say, are interlinked and the aim is to make them work almost simultaneously.
One of the key concerns for EU officials remains persistent concerns that Europe’s defense industry may not be up to the task of delivering 1 million shells to Ukraine in 12 months, according to one of the diplomats.
“So the more restrictive language we include now, the harder it will get to reach our goal,” a second diplomat argued.
The flip side, of course, is that EU firms say they need the guarantee of incoming orders before they pay to build out their manufacturing capabilities. French President Emmanuel Macron ruffled feathers recently when he called on the EU not to become “America’s followers,” and to focus on establishing its own “strategic autonomy.”
Still, the second diplomat said: “It’s back to the point of what you prioritize: speed or European industry.”
