Regulation 2023/1525 - Supporting ammunition production (ASAP) - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 185/7

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has put the European defence industry and defence equipment market to the test and exposed a number of flaws which undermine their ability to satisfy in the requisite, secure and timely manner the Member States’ urgent needs for defence products and systems, such as ammunition and missiles, considering the high consumption rate of those products and systems during a high-intensity conflict.

Since 24 February 2022 the Union and its Member States have been steadily stepping up their efforts to help meet Ukraine’s pressing defence needs. Furthermore, in that context, confronted with growing instability, strategic competition and security threats, the Union Heads of State or Government, meeting in Versailles on 11 March 2022, decided to take more responsibility for the Union’s own security and take further decisive steps towards building European sovereignty. They committed to ‘bolster European defence capabilities’ and agreed to increase defence expenditure, to step up cooperation through joint projects and common procurement of defence capabilities, to close shortfalls, to boost innovation and to strengthen and develop the Union defence industry. On 21 March 2022, the ‘Strategic Compass for a stronger Union security and defence in the next decade’ (the ‘Strategic Compass’) was approved by the Council, and subsequently endorsed by the European Council on 24 March 2022. The Strategic Compass stresses the need to increase defence spending and invest more in capabilities, both at Union and national levels.

The Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented a Joint Communication on the Defence Investment Gaps Analysis and Way Forward on 18 May 2022 highlighting the existence, within the Union, of defence financial, industrial and capability gaps. On 19 July 2022 the Commission presented a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the European defence industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA), aimed at supporting collaboration between Member States in the procurement phase to fill the most urgent and critical gaps, especially those created by the response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in a collaborative way. EDIRPA will contribute to the reinforcement of the common defence procurement and, through the associated Union financing, to the strengthening of Union defence industrial capacities and to the adaptation of the Union defence industry to structural market changes resulting from increased demand due to new challenges, such as the return of high-intensity conflict.

In light of the situation in Ukraine and of its pressing defence needs, in particular for ammunition, on 20 March 2023 the Council agreed on a three-track approach, aimed at providing one million rounds of artillery ammunition for Ukraine in a joint effort within the next 12 months. It agreed to urgently deliver ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition to Ukraine and, if requested, missiles, from existing stocks or by means of reprioritisation of existing orders. It further...