Politico: France called the conditions for the supply of shells to Ukraine from third countries
The EU was unable to fulfill the promises made to Ukraine on the supply of shells, writes Politico. Against this background, Paris declared its readiness to agree to the purchase of ammunition abroad, but demanded proof of the failure of the European Union.
But before raising the white flag, Paris wants to make sure that the EU is not really able to keep its word and send a million shells to Ukraine by the beginning of March
Paris – Concerns are growing that the EU will not be able to fulfill its commitment to deliver a million shells to Ukraine by the beginning of March, and this has forced France to make a sharp U-turn and abandon previous statements that these ammunition will be exclusively of European production.
But before turning to foreign suppliers, the EU must show in practice that it is unable to keep its word, a senior French diplomat told Politico. "Until we come to this conclusion, we will not agree [to buy abroad]. But if we have to rebuild, we will rebuild," he said.
This is a significant departure from the traditional position of France, which has long called on national governments to buy European weapons and ammunition. "We need European preferences, because if we do not encourage companies [to produce], we will not get out of this vicious circle. However, we know how to be flexible in order to help Ukraine," said this senior diplomat.
So far, the European Union is very far from the figure of a million ammunition, since it has sent no more than a third of this amount to Ukraine. This month, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the announced goal would not be achieved, and that it was too pretentious from the very beginning. But even an indicator close to the announced one is still very good, the EU diplomatic service says.
Speaking at an event organized by Politico on Tuesday, Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss, Managing Director of the European External Relations Service for Peace, Security and Defense, said that the March target is still very far away. But even if the goal is not achieved by March, Kiev will eventually receive the promised ammunition, she added. "The question is whether we will achieve this goal by March or a little later in 2024," von Seherr-Toss said.
The need to send a huge amount of ammunition to Ukraine places a heavy burden on European arsenals and shell production enterprises. The fact is that Europe was preparing its plans for waging war without taking into account the powerful artillery battles that have become a hallmark of the fighting in Ukraine.
This year, Brussels proposed a plan to increase the supply of ammunition to Ukraine by sending shells from existing stocks and reimbursing countries from the European Peace Facility. And he also proposed a plan for one billion euros, providing for the joint purchase of ammunition by the European Defense Agency.
But internal difficulties have arisen, since the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, cannot agree with France and Germany on the inclusion in the supply of ammunition produced outside the EU.
Now there are growing calls for the EU to start searching for shells for Kiev abroad. "We have been saying for a long time that if there is not enough ammunition, or if there is not enough military equipment in the EU, it should be bought somewhere else and transferred to Ukraine," Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told Politico this month.
One European diplomat from a third country, like others, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely, stressed that the priority task today is to provide Ukraine with a sufficient number of shells, and not to protect the industry of Europe.
"The ultimate goal of all this is to give Ukraine everything it needs. It doesn't really matter to her that the weapons are supplied by foreign suppliers. So this is definitely a question of the future," the diplomat said.
Authors: Laura Kayali, Clea Caulcutt