The European Commission on Tuesday proposed spending 500 million euros ($508 million) to finance joint defense purchases among member states to replenish weapons stocks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a first for the European Union, the fund would draw on the EU budget over the next two years and would help countries replace depleted stockpiles after arms shipments to Ukraine emptied arsenals.
“(EU countries) have drawn on their stocks of ammunition, light and heavy artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank defence systems, and even armoured vehicles and tanks,” European Commissioner Thierry Breton said.
“This has created a de facto vulnerability that now needs to be addressed urgently,” he warned.
Defense spending in Europe varies widely among the 27 EU member states and lacks coordination, drawing criticism that neighbouring countries often double up on investments, driving up prices.
Debate has raged for decades over whether Brussels should bring in more unity on defence matters. EU member nations—most of which are also NATO allies—have often been reluctant to agree moves to integrate military capabilities.
But under the impulse of France, ambitions on common defense have gathered steam in recent years, including a 7.9-billion-euro defense fund agreed last year, in a separate program.
Under the latest proposal, the fund would accept purchase requests from at least three member states at a time when spending on weapons is ramping up due to the war in Ukraine.
The commission said replenishing stockpiles, replacing Soviet-era legacy systems, and reinforcing air and missile defense systems were the top priorities.
On Monday, Russian shelling of a town in eastern Ukraine killed six people, Kyiv said, as EU ministers meeting in Brussels insisted the pressure of Western sanctions on Moscow was working.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile appointed an acting security chief, having announced the suspension of senior law enforcement officials.
Rescue workers were digging through debris and clearing rubble from a collapsed two-storey building in Toretsk in the industrial east that was struck by Russian artillery early Monday.
“I had my windows open. There was a huge explosion around 5:00 a.m.—stones and dust,” local resident Nadia said.
Emergency services said five people had been pulled dead from the rubble, while a sixth, seriously wounded, had died in hospital.
Toretsk, a town of around 30,000 residents, lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Kramatorsk, a key target for Russian forces, who invaded Ukraine in late February.
Russia’s troops have made gains in the eastern region of Donbas recently, capturing the sister cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk.
On Monday, pro-Moscow rebels claimed their next target in Donbas—the town of Siversk—was under their control, an announcement that could not be independently verified.