War in Ukraine: European Commission to allocate €500 million to urgently boost EU defence industry

The European Commission today adopted the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) to urgently deliver ammunition and missiles to Ukraine and to help Member States refill their stocks. 

Together with this regulation, the European Commission proposes to allocate a budget of €500 million in current prices to strengthen the EU’s production capacity in ammunition, missiles and their components. 

“This will help supply more ammunition for Ukraine to defend its citizens and it will also strengthen our European defence capabilities,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. “Together with the Member States, we will mobilise a further €1 billion to ramp up capacities across Europe. This is a critical part of Europe‘s strategic capacity to defend its interests and values, and help maintain peace on our continent.”

On 20 March, the European Council agreed on a three-track approach calling Member States to jointly procure ammunition and, if requested, missiles, to refill their stocks while enabling the continuation of support to Ukraine. 

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Press release