EU negotiators agreed on Friday to increase ammunition manufacturing in the bloc as part of a campaign to arm Ukraine and replenish depleted arsenals.
The 500-million-euro ($545-million) Act in Support of Ammunition Production, or ASAP, aims to increase the production of artillery rounds and missiles.
“This is yet another proof of the EU’s unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine,” said Margarita Robles, the defence minister of Spain, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
As European allies struggle to keep up supplies for Ukraine’s fight against Russia, Brussels says it intends to increase the bloc’s production capacity to a million shells per year within the next year.
Negotiations between EU member states and legislators were hurried in order to implement the proposal.
The European Parliament and capitals must now give its final assent.
The program will grant funds to businesses aiming to increase their production capacity.
EU member states have also adopted a new two-billion-euro agreement to send a million rounds to Ukraine from their stockpiles this year and jointly purchase munitions for Kiev.
So far, the union has fallen far short of its goal of providing a million howitzer shells to Kyiv.
Ukrainian soldiers say they are running out of ammunition as they attempt to drive Moscow’s troops out of captured territory in a grueling counter-offensive.
Since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February, the EU claims to have given equipment worth roughly 15 billion euros.
