The European Commission will propose on Wednesday a financial instrument that will stimulate the production of ammunition in the European Union up to one million shells per year in order to restore national stocks and also to help Ukraine, reports AFP.

“I am confident that within 12 months we will be able to increase our production capacity to one million munitions per year in Europe,” said Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton on Tuesday.

The proposal is the third phase of an action plan approved by the EU at the end of March to provide Ukrainian forces with at least one million 155 mm rounds and replenish strategic stockpiles of European countries, some of which are almost depleted.

The financial instrument will provide 500 million euros, of which 260 million from the European Defense Fund. This will make it possible to co-finance manufacturers’ investments to increase the production of their plants in the EU. It concerns 15 companies that produce ammunition in 11 member states.

These producers “today do not have the necessary scale to meet the security needs of Ukraine and our member states. But they have all the potential to do so,” says Thierry Breton, who visited the enterprises of the main EU ammunition producers. “We may also need to rebuild the industrial base to adapt it to the need for high-intensity conflict,” he explained.

“The current pace does not support the military efforts of Ukraine, which consumes more than the EU produces,” a representative of the member state confirmed to AFP.

The proposal is not aimed at meeting the urgent needs of Ukraine, which is preparing for an offensive, trying to return the territories occupied by Russia. “In order to support Ukraine in the very short term, we must continue to donate from our reserves,” he insisted. European Commissioner

According to information obtained by AFP, since President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call on February 9, EU countries have supplied Ukraine with almost 40,000 projectiles and more than a thousand missiles for anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons. However, these figures correspond to reimbursement requests submitted by member states and do not reflect the reality of supplies covered by military secrecy.

A package of one billion euros is under consideration to reimburse part of the ammunition provided by member states from their arsenals. The second package in the amount of one billion euros will be used to co-finance the joint procurement of 155-mm shells for Ukraine. Orders will be placed in September from manufacturers whose production takes place in the EU and Norway.

The money will give the EU autonomy in munitions production and increase the industry’s ability to respond to high-intensity conflicts such as the one taking place in Ukraine. “As far as defense is concerned, our manufacturers must now switch to a military economy formula,” said Thierry Breton.

And the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Tuesday in Prague the measures to “urgently speed up” the production of ammunition in the European Union, both for its member countries and for delivery to Ukraine, informs EFE. Von der Leyen will propose “a more favorable regulation with faster authorization procedures” in Brussels on Wednesday, von der Leyen said after a meeting with Czech President Petr Pavel.