Poland will insist on shells purchase outside EU: Ukraine needs shells here and now

Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime-Minister of Poland, plans to persuade the EU partners that joint procurement of projectiles outside the borders of the EU is necessary since Ukraine already needs them but Europe does not have enough of them.

Source: Morawiecki in an interview for RMF FM cited by European Pravda

Quote: "It is not that big of a secret in Brussels that Europe has no shells. On the other hand, there are a few places in the world, specifically South Korea, where there are far more of these projectiles. So I hope that our discussions with the European Commission, and with a few key countries, Germany and France, will lead to the rapid supply of projectiles because Ukraine needs them here and now."

At the moment, France is against the procurement of ammunition outside the EU, insisting that profitable contracts must be signed by European companies.

"I will convince them (France – ed.) that shells must be supplied very quickly. Since we do not have such shells here, in Europe, in sufficient quantities, we have to buy them externally, just like Poland buys ultramodern armament K2, K9 and Abrams from abroad at the moment," – Poland’s PM remarked.

At the same time, he admitted that the external supplier’s agreement, for instance that of South Korea, is needed.

"This is where we should begin. We can only do it if the one selling it allows export, and permits the transfer of these projectiles. We are certainly a reliable partner so we will only do it with permission,"  Morawiecki stressed.

While South Korea signed big treaties about supplying the NATO member Poland with hundreds of tanks, planes and other armament since the beginning of the war, Yoon Suk-yeol, President of South Korea, stated that the law of his country is against providing the countries in conflict with armament, which makes the supply of Ukraine with armament more difficult.

On 20 March, 17 EU countries and Norway reached an agreement to jointly produce and procure shells in order to restock their supplies and satisfy the needs of Ukraine. The fulfillment of this plan provides for supplying Ukraine with a million artillery shells over the course of 12 months.

Poland and Spain later joined the coalition.

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