French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce a pledge as soon as this week to support a Czech proposal to source hundreds of thousands of artillery shells from countries outside the European Union to back Ukraine’s war effort, according to people familiar with the matter, Ednews informs via Bloomberg.
Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have all joined France in backing the plan to buy non-EU ammunition, and Macron will discuss the proposal with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala during a trip to Prague on Tuesday, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A separate discussion of EU defense and foreign ministers is expected to take place later in the week to hammer out the details.
Czech President Petr Pavel said at the Munich Security Conference last month that his country had identified 500,000 rounds of 155mm shells and 300,000 rounds of 122mm ones that could be delivered within weeks if the money was made available. A few days later, Macron invited leaders to discuss Ukraine aid, including the Czech proposal, in Paris, where the Netherlands agreed to contribute €100 million ($108 million).
The Czech government has said it’s received preliminary commitments from Canada and Denmark among other countries, including Lithuania and Latvia, saying they’re considering joining the initiative after their leaders informally decided to back the plan at the Paris gathering, said the people. Poland expressed readiness to join the plan, Fiala said after meeting Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Prague last week.