Germany's Troisdorf City Council blocks EU's arms support to Ukraine

Europe’s efforts to boost arms production and help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion are facing an unexpected obstacle in a German local government.

The city council in Troisdorf, which has a population close to 80,000, has for the time being blocked plans put forward by a major arms company to expand production locally, Euractiv reports.

Citing development needs, the “no” by the western municipality near Cologne is calling into question the European Union’s ability to manufacture more weapons at a crucial time.

Earlier this year, the 27-member EU pledged to step up supplies of much-needed artillery shells to Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces faced shortfalls.

The mayor of Troisdorf rarely has a role to play in international politics, but the local official was called to account by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in parliament in early December for holding up the project.

Recognising the risks, the popular minister urged local and regional authorities to work to speed up the rate of arms production.

“The pressure (…) is great because in Europe and in Germany there is a real bottleneck on ammunition,” Pistorius told MPs.

For weeks, Troisdorf has been at loggerheads with arms giant Diehl Defence, whose local factory produces the ignition devices needed for large quantities of explosives, such as rockets and missile charges.

These parts are used in the manufacture of the Iris-T air defence system, three of which have been delivered by the German government to Ukraine.

The Troisdorf site is an important link in Europe’s objectives to back Ukraine, as Kyiv urges its allies to supply it with more munitions at a time when it is struggling to repel the Russian offensive.

The EU has pledged to provide Ukraine with one million artillery rounds by March 2024 to aid in Kyiv’s fight against Russia.

To date, it has delivered about 300,000 rounds from its own stocks, now depleted.

German industry’s share of the EU plan should eventually reach 300,000 to 400,000 shells a year, more than three times the production at the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, industry sources told AFP.

But Diehl Defence now sees the future of its Troisdorf site in serious jeopardy 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 had been put up for sale by the former Dynamit Nobel weapons company, so that it could expand its production capacity.

For its part, the local authority is planning to convert the site, which is the size of 50 football pitches and ideally located near the city centre, into homes and offices.

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