BRUSSELS – ANSWER. Exactly one year ago the idea of ​​negotiating EU contracts purchase of ammunition it would be unthinkable. Today, this issue is not only on the agenda, but the process of its preliminary financing is also accelerating. buying weaponsthrough European funding to deliver them to Ukraine. The goal is to simultaneously strengthen the European defense industry, which will now produce weapons and ammunition to supply Kyiv.

In the corridors of Brussels, by the way, optimism has been circulating lately that an agreement will be reached soon. According to people involved in these negotiations, the number of “wishers” among EU member states has increased. contracts for joint purchases to optimize defense orders and encourage manufacturers to expand production. It is expected that this issue will concern the upcoming meeting of EU defense ministers. in Stockholm next week with the aim of reaching an agreement in principle for the European Council to formally approve it on 23-24 March.

Ensuring an adequate supply of ammunition for Ukraine has become a big problem in recent weeks, as high-ranking officials, including the governor. NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg warned that Europe’s defense industry was “under pressure” and was struggling to meet demand. Russia is said to produce more than 20,000 artillery shells daily, the same amount as European factories produce in a month. Ukraine shoots about a quarter.

And since agreements in the EU – even those that have the acceptance of most member states – are slow to implement, the main question is how to speed up the transfer of weapons and ammunition in the coming months, when hostilities are expected to intensify in Ukraine. An interesting proposal concerns the delivery of ammunition from the national stocks of Member States. Already after all, some EU member states. delivered 40% of their reserves to Kyiv. The plan includes a fast track with 9 member states producing the munitions and weapons Ukraine needs today, as well as the participation of non-EU countries such as Norway. What is required is an agreement in which at least 3 member states can initially participate, as confirmed by European sources. This de facto stockpile agreement will give the European defense industry the time it needs to advance the production of ammunition and weapons. “We need incentives to mobilize the defense industry,” say competent sources, emphasizing that “reality has outstripped current systems.” Given that the current conditions of the EU. to ban the use of the bloc’s funds for military purposes, the “solution” comes through the EU’s so-called European Peace Fund, which has already been used to compensate member states for the weapons they have supplied to Kiev. A possible starting amount of 1 billion euros, which of course falls far short of Estonia’s proposal (via its non-paper).

There is an urgent need to stimulate the defense industry to expand production, which means that the money is needed in advance, not after the fact. The EU will turn to Canada and Norway for help, competent sources comment.

Since the outbreak of the war, the EU has strengthened Ukraine and the Ukrainian people by a total of 67 billion euros. The amount may seem incomprehensible, but no one forgets the reason for it. “Perhaps this amount is a drop in the ocean, given the battle that Ukraine is waging today, which concerns all of us,” European sources say.