BRUSSELS, March 20. () –
The foreign and defense ministers of the European Union have reached an agreement on Monday for the plan for the joint purchase of ammunition with which to replenish the stocks of the European armies and guarantee the sustainable supply that Ukraine needs in the context of the war in Russian aggression.
The plan has been agreed within the framework of the meeting and announced by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, diplomatic sources have informed Europa Press.
The joint meeting this Monday in Brussels has served to close the initiative by which they will provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition from their own arsenals and will receive aid of 1,000 million euros, through the European Peace Mechanism, to invest in their replacement .
The other part of the plan goes through a joint purchase plan worth another 1,000 million. Among the details of the pooled procurement plan is whether a central role is given to the European Defense Agency (EDA), as Borrell wants to have in order to have a truly pan-European project, or are coalitions of countries renegotiating contracts with the arms industry.
On the question of prioritizing European-made military material, the agreement finally contemplates that purchases be limited to the European and Norwegian arms industry.
Upon his arrival at the meeting, the head of community diplomacy asked the Member States for “pragmatism”. “Let’s not get into a battle of skills and egos. We have to provide ammunition to Ukraine quickly, in large quantities and on good financial terms for us,” he said, urging ministers to agree on the plan.
