MEPs support acceleration of procedure for production of 1 million ammunition for Ukraine
European parliamentarians have overwhelmingly supported accelerating the adoption of legislation that will increase the production of 1 million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine.
According to Politico, 816 MEPs voted in favour of the bill.
This is the Ammunition Support Act (ASAP), which will support the industry in increasing ammunition production to 1 million rounds per year with a budget of €500 million. Only 59 MPs voted against it, with 31 abstentions.
The centre-right group of the European People’s Party proposed that the parliament bypass the usual parliamentary committee discussions so that the final vote on ASAP could take place in parliament at the end of this month in Brussels.
– We hope that this will happen as soon as possible,” Stéphane Sejourne, the French leader of the Renew Europe group, told reporters in Strasbourg.
After the vote in parliament, MEPs will have to reach an agreement with national governments and the European Commission to make the act official.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who is one of the main initiators of the bill, wrote on Twitter after the vote: “We are ready to work with fellow lawmakers to find an agreement as a matter of urgency.”
Recently, it became known that the ambassadors of the EU member states approved the decision to allocate €1 billion for the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine. The decision was made during a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) in Brussels.
