German city authorities block plans to increase production of arms needed by Ukraine

Europe's efforts to increase arms production and help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion have faced an unexpected obstacle in the form of German local authorities.

Source: Euractiv, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The city council of Troisdorf, a city of about 80,000 people, has now blocked plans by one of the largest arms companies to expand production locally.

The Mayor of Troisdorf rarely plays a role in international politics, but in early December, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called the local official to account in parliament for the delay.

Aware of the risks, Pistorius called on local and regional authorities to work to speed up the pace of arms production.

"The pressure [...] is great because in Europe and in Germany there is a real bottleneck on ammunition," Pistorius told MPs.

For several weeks, Troisdorf has been at odds with arms industry giant Diehl Defence, whose local plant produces the ignition devices needed for a large number of explosives such as rockets and explosive charges.

These parts are used in the production of Iris-T air defence systems, three of which have been supplied by the German government to Ukraine.

The Troisdorf facility is an important link in Europe's efforts to support Ukraine.

The EU has pledged to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells by March 2024 to help Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

German industry's share of the EU plan should eventually reach 300,000 to 400,000 shells per year, more than triple the production at the time of the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

But Diehl Defence now sees the future of its plant in Troisdorf under serious threat after the city decided to claim part of the business park where the group's subsidiary DynITEC is based.

The arms manufacturer wanted to buy the land, which was put up for sale by the former arms company Dynamit Nobel, to expand its production facilities.

For its part, the local government plans to turn the 50 football-pitch-sized plot, which is perfectly located near the city centre, into a residential and office neighbourhood.

"By calling the site in Troisdorf into question, the Federal Republic of Germany’s defence capability is being undermined," Thomas Bodenmüller, a member of the board of directors of Diehl Defence, said in response.

A wide range of city council members, from the conservative mayor Alexander Bieber to the Greens and the left-wing radical The Left party (approximately two-thirds of the council) refused to give away such a large area in the city centre.

This is because, according to the local authorities, the production of explosives and munitions requires huge protective zones around the plant that cannot be used for the construction of any buildings for safety reasons.

For Marie-Agnes Strach-Zimmermann, chair of the defence committee in the lower house of the Bundestag and a strong supporter of Ukraine, the position of the mayor of Troisdorf "is quite simply irresponsible".

"This is about Ukraine, but also and above all about Germany's security," she said.

Despite mediation meetings on the eve of the Christmas holidays, no compromise has been found. And this is not the only case of such an issue.

Earlier this year, the Rheinmetall Group, another prominent company in the German arms industry, announced that it would not be building a new ammunition powder plant in the Saxony region of eastern Germany.

The project had raised concerns among the local population, and after failing to gain public approval, Rheinmetall moved the project to a different location in Bavaria.

Background: 

• Reuters stated that EU member states had so far delivered only 480,000 of the one million artillery shells promised to Ukraine by spring 2024.
• In early December, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius reiterated his previous statement that the EU would not be able to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine by spring 2024, but promised that the situation would improve.
• The European Commission has called on EU countries to put pressure on the defence industry to increase production of shells for Ukraine. 

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