European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks at a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 8, 2023. EU defense ministers on Wednesday discussed the idea of sending further military support to Ukraine, at an informal meeting in the Swedish capital Stockholm. (Josefine Stenersen/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)
STOCKHOLM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) defense ministers on Wednesday discussed the idea of sending further military support to Ukraine, at an informal meeting in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
"There was increasing consensus around the table that the EU needs to act in order to provide the Ukrainians with more ammunition," Sweden's Minister for Defense Pal Jonson said in a video released after the meeting.
The defense ministers discussed a plan by Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, for the EU to reimburse member states who immediately send more artillery ammunition to Ukraine.
Under the plan, member states would also jointly purchase large quantities of ammunition through the European Defense Agency, to speed up deliveries while keeping costs down.
The EU plans to allocate two billion euros (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) from the European Peace Facility to the purchase of ammunition.
"I hope that by our next defense ministers' meeting on March 20 in Brussels we actually will be able to reach an agreement," Jonson said after the meeting. ■
