The European Parliament (EP) decided on Tuesday to urgently discuss a proposal from the European Commission that makes it possible to invest in the munitions production industry through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
MEPs approved the progress of the deliberation process of the Ammunition Production Support Act (ASAP) by 518 votes to 59 and 31 abstentions.
In this way, the EP can discuss the proposal in the next plenary session, between 31 May and 1 June in Brussels, and MEPs can, in principle, vote on it in July.
The ASAP was presented by the European Commission on 3 May and proposes to make available immediately 500 million euros for the modernization of the factories that produce artillery ammunition that already exist in the member states.
The mechanism will also make it possible for the first time to use PRR and cohesion funds to invest in this sector.
The Brussels proposal is part of a concerted effort by member states to supply munitions to Ukraine, which has been trying to fend off a Russian invasion for more than a year.
At the same time, the 27 members of the community bloc are working towards the joint purchase of 155 mm ammunition – used by the Ukrainian artillery – and the delivery of one million ammunition in the next 12 months.
The European Union (EU) has already made more than a billion euros available from the European Peace Fund for this purpose.
The EU strategy follows the military invasion of the Russian Federation on 24 February last year, which plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
