EU signs eight contracts with defense companies to purchase ammunition for Ukraine

The European Defense Agency (EDA) signed eight contracts with the defense industry for the joint ammunition procurement for Ukraine.

The European Pravda reports, referring to the EDA, that thanks to these contracts, the EU member states and Norway can now purchase 155-mm ammunition through the EDA, which acts as a procurement agency.

Signed contracts are reported to be the first-ever step towards using the European Union for joint arms procurement. To comply with legal obligations and protect trade secrets, EDA cannot disclose the names of contractors and prices at this stage, nor does it comment on ongoing negotiations.

The purchased ammunition is intended for the standard self-propelled howitzers the EU member states provided to Ukraine, like French Caesar, Polish Krab, German Panzerhaubitze 2000, and Slovak Zuzana.

These framework contracts were signed as part of a trilateral approach to increasing the supply of artillery ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, agreed upon by the Council of the EU in March 2023.

The European Union supports members in supplying artillery ammunition and missiles from national stocks, aggregating demand and joint procurement of 155-mm ammunition, and increasing the production capacity of the European defense industry.

The regulation "Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP)," developed in the European Union to increase the production of ammunition and missiles, entered into force on July 23.

What we know about ammunition supply to Ukraine

ASAP is part of the European Union's plan to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells over 12 months, proposed in March 2022. The plan's first stage lasted from February 9 to May 31. At the time, €1 billion was set aside to reimburse EU member states for around half the cost of munitions provided from their arsenals.

According to the EU, the total value of the ammunition provided was €1.1 billion. As Agence France-Presse points out, EU money only reimbursed part of the cost, which shows that the measure fell short of its goal.

The ammunition transferred to Ukraine, announced by Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano, is not too strikingly different from the one announced at the end of May by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

As Rubryka reported, as part of the agreement to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells during the year, the European Union has already delivered over 223,800 shells and 2,300 missiles to the Ukrainian forces.