EU Commissioner Thierry Breton to visit Bulgaria to negotiate ammunition for Ukraine

EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, arrives in Bulgaria on Wednesday, March 15, for a meeting with the defence industry, the European Commission told BNT on March 13. The purpose of the visit is to urge the arms industry to quickly increase its production capacity in order to secure ammunition for Ukraine.

Last week, a plan to increase funding for ammunition for Ukraine by further €2 billion was discussed at an informal meeting of defence ministers in Stockholm. Breton and EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced that the EU would respond in a coordinated way to the needs of the Ukrainian army, which is suffering from a shortage of ammunition.

The plan includes immediate provision of ammunition from existing national stocks, consolidation of demand through a joint EU contract on behalf of member states and a massive increase in production capacity within the EU itself.

Breton is expected to visit 11 member states with arms industry to urge them to increase production rapidly. He will be in the Czech Republic on Friday.