European Union (EU) member states called for a billion euros in March to fulfill a commitment to provide “on an emergency basis” the ammunition requested by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in a document seen by the AFP agency, recommends allocating 1 billion euros from the European Peace Support Fund for the purchase of 155-mm shells used by Ukrainian artillery.
On March 7 and 8, EU defense ministers will hold an informal meeting in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
A spokeswoman for the European External Action Service told Efe news agency that talks on a joint arms purchase are ongoing and that Borrell will discuss specific proposals with 27 defense ministers on March 7 and 8.
The European Peace Fund, an intergovernmental fund outside the EU budget, has made it possible to finance some of the weapons that member states provide to Ukraine to protect against Russian invasion.
The money is used to reimburse states for the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine from their reserves.
In his proposal, Josep Borrell proposes to provide “a favorable refund rate, up to 90%, if the ammunition is delivered before a certain date.”
The fund’s budget is supplemented by contributions from states based on their gross domestic product (GDP), with the top three contributors being Germany, France and Italy. Three countries – Austria, Ireland and Malta – do not participate in the financing of the supply of lethal weapons, and their contributions are covered by the other 24 EU member states.
A community spokeswoman acknowledged that the work needed to be done “quickly” and that the EU had “tools and structures to build on,” although she did not provide details of ongoing discussions.
But he acknowledged that “to meet immediate needs” the European Peace Fund could be used “to boost short-term supplies of munitions.”
The same source added that it is also necessary to consider joint procurement at the European level to replenish the reserves of member states and maintain support for Kyiv.
In recent weeks, Estonia has floated the idea of joint EU arms purchases for Ukraine so that Kyiv can defend itself against a Russian invasion.
The proposal is inspired by the joint procurement of covid-19 vaccines made by the EU during the covid-19 pandemic.
On February 20, at a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers welcomed Estonia’s proposal for a joint purchase of artillery ammunition for Ukraine, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy began to prepare options for implementing this initiative.
Borrell later added that the decision to jointly purchase ammunition was up to EU defense ministers and asked member countries to use their strategic reserves.
“This is urgent. We must quickly mobilize the means at our disposal and act with what we have, ”the Spanish diplomat defended on February 21.
The European Peace Fund has already allocated 3.5 billion euros, and states have agreed to provide another 2 billion.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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