Although the European defense industry lacks the necessary size to respond to the demand for ammunition derived from the war in Ukraine and to the rearmament needs of the member states, which last year donated a large part of their arsenals to Kyiv, “it has all the potential to do so” but it must wake up and react, the European Commission has concluded, which today approved a plan to strengthen its production capacity and be in a position to manufacture one million projectiles per year in just twelve months.
“Touring Europe, I have been able to realize, up close, that the European production capacity has nothing to envy our partners. But in terms of defense, our industries must switch to war economy mode”, defends the European commissioner of Internal Market, the French Thierry Breton, author of the plan that today will approve the community executive. The proposal is accompanied by an item of 500 million euros, intended to co-finance 50% of projects with member states, and is one more step in the construction of a Europe of defense, accelerated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the brutal change in the continent’s security landscape.
Brussels also proposes to make legislative changes that allow accelerating the granting of permits. The plan “will combine more agile regulation with faster authorization procedures. It is about accelerating and increasing the production of ammunition from now on because Ukraine needs it now, â€said the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, yesterday in Prague. The proposal includes a temporary and exceptional regulatory exemption, which would be in force until mid-2025, in order to grant activity permits more quickly or increase work shifts in factories. “We must revitalize our industry and adapt it to the needs of a high-intensity conflict,” defends Breton, who has identified 15 European munitions factories that could benefit from the plan.
The initiative intends to carry out the promise made to Ukraine to obtain the ammunition it needs to carry out a counter-offensive in the east of the country, a three-stage plan that aims to deliver one million artillery shells in 12 months. In a first phase, the member states must again donate part of their arsenals, a campaign that has started slowly. The second step is to make joint purchases of projectiles so that the orders are larger and encourage the industry to invest. The initiative presented today aims, finally, to encourage this transformation and reinforce productive capacity in a sustained manner.
