The ultimate goal is to accelerate the production of ammunition to fill European stocks and supply more to Ukraine. While Volodymyr Zelensksy deposited, Thursday, February 8 during the European Council in Brussels, on the desk of each head of government of the Twenty-seven his ” shopping list “ weapons – which Ukrainians know “sometimes even better than the Member States”laughs a source – Kaja Kallas, the Estonian Prime Minister proposed to her peers that Europe jointly buy artillery pieces to transfer them directly to Ukraine.
“A bit like we were able to do for vaccines during the Covid pandemic. The Commission gathered the requests, the funds of the States, and placed the ordersconfided on Friday to a few European journalists including The world, Mme Callas. It worked, so why not do it for weapons? This would give visibility to manufacturers. »
According to the Estonian Prime Minister: “Russia has gone into a war economy, with factories running 24 hours a day. In Europe, we have not yet picked up the pace. However, Russia sends an average of 20,000 artillery pieces per day against the Ukrainian forces. This is the equivalent of European monthly production! » In Europe, the European defense industrial and technological base has for several months been asking for orders extending over several years in order to invest and increase their production capacities.
“We must quickly establish a long-term plan”
“After a year of war, it is surprising that the production capacities of weapons have still not been increasednotes Sven Biscop, specialist in defense issues at the Belgian think tank Institut Egmont. We need to establish a long-term plan quickly, because we have seen that there is a problem with the depth of stocks in Europe. Whatever the future scenario in Ukraine, aid for military equipment will have to be continued. »
In fact, the new Estonian proposal “Let’s put some urgency back on this subject”, according to a senior European official. However, he surprised the President of the Council of the European Union (EU) Charles Michel and his entourage. “The subject was on the table at the summit of Versailles” in March 2022, says a European source. “The Commission had been mandated and we saw nothing coming…” In the fall, the European executive presented its text to launch joint purchases of emergency equipment – says Edirpa – endowed with 500 million euros…
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