MEPs of the European Parliament’s main political groups gave their support, in a plenary debate on Wednesday 15 March, to the High Representative of the Union’s proposal on the supply of ammunition to Ukraine (see EUROPE 13137/10).
According to an EEAS document obtained by EUROPE, in recent months Russian forces have fired between 20,000 and 50,000 artillery shells per day compared to 4,000 to 7,000 for Ukrainian forces, which use artillery shells faster than their partners can produce and supply them. While Ukrainian forces reportedly limit the consumption of 155 mm ammunition to 110,000 rounds per month due to a lack of stocks, the estimated requirement is 357,000 rounds to properly support their combat objectives.
“We have to live up to Ukraine’s expectations for as long as it takes, so that Ukraine wins and then replenish our stocks as quickly as possible to be able to defend ourselves”, stressed Michael Gahler (German) on behalf of the EPP. He added that everything should be done to improve production and that the industry should do so without waiting for a mandate from governments. “Your productions will be bought over a long time, we cannot assume that the Evil Empire will disappear soon”, he promised.
For Nathalie Loiseau (Renew Europe, French), “we have to use all the levers we have at our disposal at the same time: urgently provide Kyiv with ammunition, wherever it comes from, by relying on the European Peace Facility, and be able to hold out in the long term by increasing our own production to continue to help Ukraine, because the war will be long, and also make sure that we have the equipment we need for ourselves”. Defence industries should be encouraged to produce more by having visibility on orders that should be placed jointly, added the chair of the European Parliament’s Security and Defence Subcommittee.
For Tonino Picula (S&D, Croatian), the political objective must be clear: “We must not only help Ukraine resist Russian offensive actions, we must supply Ukraine to win this war”. “It is essential to allocate more resources and reorient existing defence production to meet current needs”, he said.
“We have to provide ammunition, military equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible, we all agree”, explained Zdzisław Krasnodębski (ECR, Polish). “We need to rebuild and expand production capacity in the EU”, he said.
“Every tank, shell we deliver to Ukraine saves Ukrainian lives”, stressed Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel (Greens/EFA, German), while Özlem Demirel (German), for The Left, said that the delivery of arms meant “war, devastation and death”. “The military-industrial complex is rubbing its hands and seeing its profit double”, she added.
Discussions continue between Member States
In parallel to the plenary debate, the ambassadors of the EU Member States discussed the High Representative’s proposal.
According to an EU source, there seems to be a consensus among Member States on the three-pronged approach, although some points remain to be clarified, notably on the type of ammunition and the source of orders. The ambassadors are expected to discuss this again on Friday.
The proposal could be agreed at the joint meeting of EU defence and foreign ministers on Monday 20 March. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)