The abbreviation of the proposal – ASAP – could not be more appropriate, as there is a great deal of rush to ramp up production. Ukraine is rapidly running out of supplies and is looking to the West for support. ‘We have already received the first two tranches of support’, says Zandee, referring to the two previous loans of 1 and 2 billion euros respectively, by way of compensation for the ammunition supplied and for the purchase of new ammunition. “It is now a structural approach, where industrial production has to increase and for which funds are made available from the EU budget.”
Heavy artillery
According to Zandee, this mainly concerns heavy artillery ammunition of 155 millimeters and rocket artillery, which are intended for long ranges. “It’s not yet clear exactly what the reports are,” Zandee continues. “Of course, it depends mainly on the request of Ukraine itself.”
“Depends on Ukraine’s request”
The European Commission allocates half a billion euros to boost production and expects individual member states to contribute, bringing the total amount to one billion euros. But whether that is enough is still the question, according to Europe correspondent Stefan de Vries. He defines the specific amount as rather arbitrary. “It’s not entirely clear what exactly you can do for one billion euros,” he says. It is also unspecified. Except it goes to ammo, but how much does a grenade cost?’
Stimulating
According to De Vries, however, it is an incentive to make the fifteen munitions factories in Europe produce more. Where the Netherlands no longer has an active munitions factory, Greece, Germany, France and Spain, for example, still have factories. “So there are enough factories with enough capacity, but now that more money is coming in, they can produce more.”
Zandee therefore doesn’t think the extra funds will ensure the addition of more weapons factories in Europe. “It’s not necessary, it’s about increasing production in existing plants,” he says. According to Zandee, it is also necessary to give the defense industry preferential treatment of the raw materials needed for ammunition: ‘It may be that others on the world market offer more, and then the raw materials don’t end up where they should end up.’
Interesting
And that’s an interesting aspect, says Zandee. This would introduce a kind of war economy, she says. “Everything still needs to be sorted out, of course, but that’s an important development in itself,” Zandee continues. “That the defense industry has priority over certain raw materials.”
And that requires special laws, Zandee points out. After all, it goes against the laws of the open economic market. “And those laws can take some time,” she concludes. “But if it were to happen, it would be a real change.”