EU Defense Chief Wants To Build Ammunition Supplies To Increase European Military Strength

European Union defense chief Andrius Kubilius. (Wikimedia Commons/European People's Party)

JAKARTA - European countries could be forced to stockpile ammunition based on the newly appointed EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius' plan to increase the bloc's military force.

Kubilius, who is believed to lead the new agency, said the idea of storage could be applied to the arsenal as Europe prepares for a possible war with Russia.

He said the European Union was "still lagging behind Russia" in producing artillery while struggling to replenish Ukraine's supplies in the third year of the war.

The bloc is short of about 300,000 bullets from a promise to provide one million ammunition for Kyiv.

"Why don't we have some kind of criteria called military security to store some artillery shells and some other products?" Kubilius said in an interview with the Financial Times, quoted from The National News September 24.

"You provide added value to the security of member states, but in addition, you create permanent demand for production, which is the biggest problem for the defense industry. They lack stable long-term orders for production," he explained.

European Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen last Tuesday appointed a new team to lead the EU's most powerful agency over the next five years, overcoming challenges to the security, competitiveness, and growth of the region.

Andrius Kubilius was lined up to become the European Union's first defense commissioner, with a new role designed to build military manufacturing capacity in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine, near the bloc's eastern border. His full position is the Defense and Space Commissioner.

Kubilius' mission is to increase the arms industry on the continent, by encouraging EU countries to spend more on European weapons and procure jointly with other governments, encouraging the companies themselves to work more across borders.

The new position reflects how security has been a top priority for the European Union's political agenda since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sparked by European concerns it may not be able to rely on Washington for protection if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

The position also reflects von der Leyen's desire for EU executive bodies to play a greater role in defense policy.

Von der Leyen has given him 100 days to draw up a EU defense blueprint and make plans for an "extreme military emergency".

Kubilius' duties include designing "air defenses" and European cyber defense systems, encouraging the purchase of equipment with the EU, overseeing space strategies, and fostering a civil preparedness culture.

Kubilius, who is a former Lithuanian Prime Minister, is known to be a strong supporter of Ukraine.

"Europeans must increase defense production, stockpile reserves and continue to help Ukraine win the war. For that, we must look for new ways on how to strengthen European defenses together with member states and NATO," he said.