Brussels details plans to boost ammunition production with €1 billion

The European Commission on Wednesday detailed its plans to help ramp up the production of ammunition in the bloc with €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in total.
The initiative is to be funded with €500 million from the bloc's joint budget, according to a press release.
Additionally, member states are called on to pitch in, with the aim of mobilizing €1 billion in total to co-finance projects aimed at increasing ammunition production or refitting old ammunition.
The proposal is part of an agreement reached in March by EU foreign affairs ministers on delivering 1 million shells to Ukraine within a year.
Under the deal, member states are urged to provide ammunition from existing stocks and jointly buy new artillery shells for Kiev, with a planned total of €2 billion in EU money.
To better support Ukraine, the EU's defence industry needs to be revitalized and adapted to the ongoing high-intensity conflict, said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
Current production capacities should be improved, new production sites created, and bottlenecks in the supply chains monitored and addressed, a press release said.
Breton said the initiative, which is to scheduled to end in June 2025, is "unprecedented."
"I am confident that within 12 months we will be able to increase our production capacity to 1 million rounds per year in Europe," he added.
Breton said that he hopes the final law can be negotiated and adopted before the summer.
EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday also on the conditions for the joint ammunition purchases for Ukraine, the rotating Swedish EU Presidency said on Twitter.
The compromise is to unlock funds worth up to €1 billion for the partial reimbursement of joint shell orders.
Ammunition and missiles bought together are to be eligible for reimbursement even if not all parts were produced in the European Union or Norway, according to EU diplomats.
The agreement came after member states had been at odds over what products should qualify for the measure.
France had wanted that all components in ammunition jointly procured by the bloc should come from the EU, while other countries wanted to include suppliers outside the bloc to accelerate deliveries.
EU capitals still need to formally back the agreement reached by ambassadors. More details on the agreement will be available once it is formally agreed on.