Borrell: EU lacks materials for ammunition production
The European Union does not have enough materials to expand the production of ammunition, and they have to be imported – as informed by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, when presenting the first Economic Security Strategy, TASS reports
"To expand the production of ammunition, we lack critical resources that need to be imported. This weakens our strategic autonomy and poses a serious risk to our security. I cannot say where we get these resources from, but this issue needs to be resolved. We must have our own production in order to be able to support Ukraine and provide for our own military needs," Mr. Borrell said, adding that these vulnerabilities can be used by someone as a way of economic pressure, so the European Union needs its own strategy to ensure security by economic methods.
The European Union has already allocated about 1.5bn Euros, and this sum should be used as financial guarantees to attract at least 15bn Euros of private investment to increase the production of artillery ammunition and missiles for multiple launch rocket systems and air defence. The European Commission intends to increase ammunition production volumes in its member states to 1bn per year in the near future in order to simultaneously supply shells to Kiev and to fill the EU arsenals.
