The Socialists and Democrats will support today´s plenary vote on the so-called Ammunition Act. This Act is proposed by the European Commission and aims at increasing the production of EU weapons to help the Ukrainian army fight against the Russian invasion. While giving full support to the need for the Ammunition Act, the S&D Group tabled amendments so that the financing of these weapons would not be to the detriment of existing EU policies and programmes, such as the EU cohesion policy and the national Recovery and Resilience Plans. Fresh EU money is needed. In addition, the amendments focus on the need to ensure full respect for workers' rights in the EU, including working hours.

Carlos Zorrinho – MEP, S&D negotiator on the Ammunition Act in the European Parliament – said:

“Our group stands with Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. We are in favour of a quick approval of the Ammunition Act. We support the development of our defence industry, which is key to European strategic autonomy. This huge effort will only be a success if the large majority of European citizens remain committed to the endeavour. This is why we have to preserve the social dimension of our industry and economy.

“It is our duty to help the Ukrainian people fight for their freedom. At the same time, it is also our duty to remain faithful to the promises we have made to Europeans. We have to continue to ensure better cohesion of our regions, as well as the much needed recovery and resilience of our economies and societies after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is why we have tabled amendments to modify the Commission proposal. Our proposed amendments improve the Ammunition Act by deleting texts allowing the redirection of already allocated EU money. Without our amendments, money could be redirected from the national Recovery and Resilience Plans; and EU funds for Regional and Cohesion Policy to the production of weaponry. The EU budget needs fresh money and the Ammunition Act is just another case where this becomes crystal clear.”