MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Political contribution of the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach to COM(2023)0406 – E-002314/2024(ASW)

The Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP)[1] aims to enhance the EU defence industry’s responsiveness and build an integrated defence market.

It has its legal basis in Article 114 and 173(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[2], which provide that the European Parliament and Council act in line with the ordinary legislative procedure, and it is fully compliant with Article 41(2) of the Treaty on European Union[3]. This legal basis was confirmed by the adoption of ASAP by the European Parliament and Council.

Regardless of the profit margins of certain actors in the sector, the programme’s intervention logic addresses the market failure in the production of ammunition and missiles, where capacity throughout the supply chain manifestly failed to match the need in the new global context.

To address risks of excessive profits, the Commission has been considering mitigation measures, by including rules on additionality in ASAP (preventing funding of projects that are already fully financed) and proposing a reinforced no-profit rule and a corresponding EU funding recovery mechanism in the European Defence Industry Programme[4].

The programme funds production capacity and delivery activities, but not defence products directly. The Commission has imposed requirements on its funding based on the intended use of EU-financed capacities.

Actions related to the production of goods or delivery of services that are prohibited under applicable international law are explicitly excluded. All ASAP actions comply with it.

Regarding concerns about ammunition produced under this regulation being sold outside the EU, export control of all defence-related products and technologies remains the exclusive prerogative of Member States.

• [1] https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/asap-boosting-defence-production_en
• [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/treaty-on-the-functioning-of-the-european-union.html
• [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:2bf140bf-a3f8-4ab2-b506-fd71826e6da6.0023.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
• [4] https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/edip-future-defence_en