In . – 03/20/2023 03:46 pm (act. 03/20/2023 03:46 pm)
EU states want to deliver a million new artillery shells to Ukraine. ©APA/AFP/SERGEY SHESTAK (icon image)
Over the next twelve months, EU states want to supply Ukraine with one million new artillery shells for the fight against Russia.
According to the plans, around €2 billion of EU funds will be mobilized to distribute costs fairly, as several diplomats confirmed on Monday on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Artillery shells are delivered in twelve months
The ammunition will be delivered within twelve months, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said on the sidelines of the consultations. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” says Pevkur. The money will come from the so-called peace mechanism. It is a financing instrument through which the EU already provides arms and equipment and supports training for the Ukrainian armed forces.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to speed up the supply of ammunition to Ukraine. “We also have to act quickly,” he said. “The objective should be, in my opinion, which has absolute priority, that a significant number of suitable ammunition be delivered to Ukraine this year.” To do this, Europe must pool its market power. “This is new territory”, emphasized the minister. Germany is in the process of opening its national framework agreements with the arms industry to partners. Denmark and the Netherlands have already expressed interest.
The new plans are based on concerns that Ukraine could run out of important ammunition in the near future. This particularly concerns artillery shells with a caliber of 155 mm. The EU Commission and Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell recently presented a plan on how possible deliveries could be accelerated.
EU states want to supply Ukraine with artillery shells
Of the two billion euros, one billion are earmarked for refunds to Member States that quickly deliver from their own stocks to the country attacked by Russia. The second billion is intended to promote joint procurement projects. The idea is that bulk orders will lower prices and speed up ordering.
Contrary to the initial plan, up to 90 percent of ammunition costs are not expected to be covered by EU funds. There was resistance from several countries because the rate had been significantly lower until then.
Schallenberg and Tanner at the meeting
ÖVP government members Alexander Schallenberg (outside) and Klaudia Tanner (defence) represent Austria at the meeting. The federal government wants to replenish its own stockpiles through joint procurement of ammunition at the EU level.
“Of course, member states must ensure that their own stockpiles are still sufficiently full,” Schallenberg said on Monday ahead of the meeting with his EU counterparts. Through the joint acquisition, expected synergy effects and lower prices, Austria would like to participate.
“On February 24 (2022, note), we experienced that the situation can change, that the world can become much more dangerous and much more conflicted,” Schallenberg said about the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in the year of Ukraine. “The illusion that you can survive in this world with empty barracks, empty stocks of ammunition has been proven wrong,” he added. As a neutral country, Austria will not deliver ammunition to Ukraine, but will supply its own stockpiles.
EU puts other perpetrators on sanctions list
Due to the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, the EU has added other perpetrators to its sanctions list. This makes it clear that we do not turn a blind eye to serious human rights violations, but we support brave men, especially women and young people, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday in Brussels. The call for freedom is now being brought to light in different ways, where “regime repression” only casts shadows. For example, women without headscarves took to the streets or posted dance videos. Baerbock did not say who exactly is affected by the new sanctions on Iran. Names should only be published in the Official Journal of the EU.