Who in the EU agreed to supply 1 million large-caliber artillery shells and missiles to Ukraine

On March 20, in Brussels, EU Member States approved an unprecedented plan to supply one million artillery shells, primarily ammunition for large-caliber artillery, to Ukraine over 12 months.

Read more about the historic decision in the article Shells Bypassing Hungary: How and Under what Conditions the EU will Jointly Supply Ammunition to Ukraine by EURACTIV, Yevropeiska Pravda’s Brussels-based partner.

On Monday evening, the EU Council unveiled its decision on military procurements for Ukraine, which has been debated for several weeks.

The decision is based on the so-called “three-track plan” aimed at speeding up the supply of shells to Ukraine, joint procurements by EU member states, and a significant increase in production capacity.

To show how significant the growth will be, it is enough to say that, according to the EU Council, individual supplies from member states amounted to EUR 450 million, so Ukraine got 350,000 artillery rounds last year.

What exactly will Ukraine receive?

The EU approved to “urgently deliver ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition to Ukraine and, if requested, missiles“. Details on the latter are not public. This may refer to supplies for air defense systems, but the document does not contain such a specific restriction.

As for artillery rounds, the priority will be large-caliber shells.

In particular, EU member states also agreed to jointly procure 155 mm ammunition “and, if, requested, missiles” for Ukraine “before 30 September 2023” via the European defense industry and Norway.

At a ministerial meeting on Monday, 18 European states signed a joint procurement. This document, known as a project arrangement, sets out the terms of reference for a joint endeavor to buy155 mm ammunition (and potentially missiles) led by the EU’s European Defense Agency.

The document was signed by representatives of 17 EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden) plus Norway.

Others will definitely join the arrangement.

For example, there is no doubt that Ukraine’s friends from Lithuania and Latvia will join this document, especially since the Latvian Prime Minister spoke out in favor of this arrangement in an interview with EuroPravda just a few days ago.

On the other hand, Hungary has already declared that it does not support the provision of shells to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and will not join the project.

Notably, Monday’s arrangement was adopted as an agreement of specific states signed by ministers. This probably made it possible to circumvent the threat of a veto by official Budapest.

It is also worth adding that on Monday, Hungary blocked another EU decision on the reaction to the ICC arrest warrant for Putin, who is suspected of committing a war crime.

In contrast to Hungary, it is very significant that Austria, a neutral state, which refused to supply Ukraine with weapons at the beginning of the year, has finally abandoned its neutrality and become one of the parties to the arrangement.

Ukraine will receive defense supplies for free, as the costs will be covered by the EU and procuring countries.

EU member states that provide ammunition will receive up to EUR 1 billion, with a reimbursement rate for the member states at 50-60%.

Equally important, this arrangement was a step toward EU integration in a new area.

This is why the arrangement for the joint production of shells has become historic for Ukraine and the EU itself.

According to the document, the initiative is aimed at purchasing only from the EU and Norway.

“We have to admit that a million shells are a minimum of what Ukraine needs – but this is still far from what Ukraine needs to make a difference on the ground and support their offensive,” Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told EURACTIV.

So, while the EU is significantly increasing supplies to support Ukraine’s victory, the help of other players, especially the United States, remains crucial.For more details, see EURACTIV’s article Shells Bypassing Hungary: How and Under what Conditions the EU will Jointly Supply Ammunition to Ukraine.

eurointegration.com.ua