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☆ EU's Borrell, in Kyiv, Says Bloc Is Preparing Long-Term Security Pledges
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) -European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Ukraine needed more military aid and he promised ongoing EU support. "Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster," he said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said he had discussed "continuous EU military assistance" during his first in-person meeting with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. "We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine," Borrell added. He said their discussions of EU military aid to Ukraine covered "artillery & ammunition, air defense, EW & long-term assistance programs, trainings, and defence industry localization" in Ukraine.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Rustem Umerov, Borrell, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Elaine Monaghan, Hugh Lawson, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, Union, Twitter, Defence, Ukraine, European Defence Agency Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Washington

BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Seven EU countries have ordered ammunition under a landmark European Union procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks, according to the EU agency in charge. The scheme was set up as part of a plan worth at least 2 billion euros, launched in March with the aim of getting a million shells and missiles to Ukraine within a year. "Seven Member States have already placed orders for 155mm ammunition through the EDA’s fast-track procedure," the agency said in response to questions from Reuters. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Kyiv on Thursday that the alliance now had overarching framework contracts for 2.4 billion euros' ($2.5 billion) worth of key ammunition, including 1 billion euros of firm orders. The EDA said the EU deals were for both complete shells and for components such as fuses, projectiles, charges and primers.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, France’s CAESAR, Poland’s, Germany’s, Andrew Gray Organizations: EU, European Union, European Defence Agency, States, Reuters, NATO, Peace, Andrew Gray Our, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, EU, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Kyiv, Europe, Ukrainian

☆ Polish ammunition firm to boost output severalfold as part of EU-Ukraine plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, March 25 (Reuters) - Polish ammunition maker Dezamet, a unit of state arms producer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), will substantially boost capacity to supply EU-funded ammunition to Ukraine, Poland's prime minister said on Saturday. The announcement by Mateusz Morawiecki comes ahead of a planned visit by EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to Dezamet on Monday. Seventeen EU member states and Norway this week agreed to jointly procure ammunition to help Ukraine and to replenish their own stockpiles, the European Defence Agency said. Dezamet, which produces ammunition for artillery, mortars and grenade launchers, is one of PGZ group's more than 50 armaments enterprises. Morawiecki said that he also counted on private companies in Poland to boost their ammunition production.

BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) - European Union countries on Monday agreed a 2 billion euro plan to send 1 million artillery rounds to Ukraine over the next year by digging into their own stockpiles and teaming up to buy more shells. The joint procurement will be limited to companies from the EU and Norway, which has close economic ties to the bloc. Some EU governments wanted the initiative to be open to a broader market, arguing this would help get munitions more quickly to Ukraine. But others said EU money should go to EU companies and insisted they would have capacity to meet demand. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, whose country is taking part in the joint procurement initiative, described it as "new territory" for the EU.

☆ Ukraine yet to make defence a safe investor haven
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

MUNICH, Feb 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The West’s rush to supply weapons to war-torn Ukraine looks like a golden opportunity for defence companies to exit the ESG doghouse. As with air-polluting coal, socially-minded investors including pension funds and insurers - particularly European ones - have long excluded or heavily restricted investment in defence companies on ethical grounds. Risk committees, particularly at domestic banks, are now more frequently assessing the merits of financing defence companies, two senior bankers among the 850 or so conference participants said. Proponents of the approach argue military companies that help Ukraine perform a globally valuable social function by upholding democracy. The Munich Security Index, a global risk perceptions survey conducted before the conference, showed security concerns had replaced climate challenges as the top concern.

[1/2] A Ukrainian serviceman rides inside a truck with artillery shells, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine January 5, 2023. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the idea of joint procurement of 155-millimetre artillery shells – badly needed by Kyiv – at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. DEPLETED STOCKPILESA joint procurement effort would aim to replenish the stockpiles of Kyiv's allies, badly depleted after a year of supplying munitions to help Ukraine fight Russia's invasion. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said this week Ukraine was using up artillery shells faster than its allies could currently produce them. Diplomats and officials did not specify how much the EU might spend on joint procurement.

[1/2] A Ukrainian serviceman rides inside a truck with artillery shells, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine January 5, 2023. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the idea of joint procurement of 155-millimetre artillery shells – badly needed by Kyiv – at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. DEPLETED STOCKPILESA joint procurement effort would aim to replenish the stockpiles of Kyiv's allies, badly depleted after a year of supplying munitions to help Ukraine fight Russia's invasion. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said this week Ukraine was using up artillery shells faster than its allies could currently produce them. Diplomats and officials did not put a figure on how much the EU might spend on joint procurement.

☆ Petr Pavel: who is the ex-army chief leading Czech presidential election race?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Polls make the bearded retired general, 61, the favourite to win a run-off vote on Friday and Saturday against billionaire ex-prime minister Andrej Babis, 68. "We got into several tense situations and he always managed them with deliberation and calm," retired Czech general Ales Opata, who served in Croatia and after with Pavel, told Reuters. He lead the Czech general staff from 2012, during Czech involvement in operations in Afghanistan, and in 2015 became NATO's military committee chair, an advisory position of the alliance's secretary-general. Jiri Sedivy, chief executive of the European Defence Agency and former Czech ambassador to NATO, said Pavel was a decision-maker who could take responsibility. After Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, Pavel represented NATO in a 2017 meeting with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

☆ EU defence agency chief: Europe cannot rely on U.S. alone as shield
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( John O'Donnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - European Union states should buy arms jointly to replenish stocks after supplying Ukraine, said the bloc's defence agency, warning the United States may not always be able to shield Europe from threats. "The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine demonstrates our capability shortfalls," said Jiri Sedivy, chief executive of the European Defence Agency, an EU body that helps the bloc's governments to develop their military capabilities. The agency was in talks with European arms firms about boosting production, he said, as well as with countries about clubbing together to buy equipment and ammunition. Europe has had a splintered approach to defence, with countries mostly equipping their military on their own, spawning a patchwork of incompatible weapons and equipment. The war in Ukraine has confronted the region with its biggest challenge in a generation, exposing deep rifts in how to deal with Moscow.

☆ EU leaders to push for defence investment programme at December summit -draft
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are pushing to quickly establish an investment programme to ramp up production in the bloc's defence industry in light of the war in Ukraine, according to a draft of conclusions for a Dec. 15-16 summit. "The European Council ... calls on the Commission to rapidly present a proposal for a European Defence Investment Programme to reinforce the capacity and resilience of the European defence technology and industrial sector, including small and medium enterprises," said the draft, seen by Reuters on Wednesday. EU leaders will also push the bloc's executive commission and the European Defence Agency to intensify efforts to identify military gaps and coordinate joint defence procurement, in particular to replenish their stocks of materiel, which have been depleted in support of Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said this month that the EU and its member states have provided arms and military equipment worth at least 8 billion euros to Ukraine so far. At their summit in Brussels, EU leaders will also call for speedier implementation of infrastructure work meant to facilitate swift military movement across Europe, according to the draft document.

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