Austria, Ireland, and Malta will not participate in the European Union's 2-billion-euro ($2.1 billion) procurement scheme to supply Ukraine with weapons and munitions because of their constitutional or historical neutrality, EUobserver reported on Thursday, citing diplomats
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2023) Austria, Ireland, and Malta will not participate in the European Union's 2-billion-euro ($2.1 billion) procurement scheme to supply Ukraine with weapons and munitions because of their constitutional or historical neutrality, EUobserver reported on Thursday, citing diplomats.
Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced a new three-pillar aid plan for Ukraine which provides for the supply of weapons from the bloc's stockpiles, an increase in the EU's defense production, and the allocation of funds from the EU's budget to speed up defense manufacturing.
The 2-billion-euro scheme, set to cover reimbursals to EU donors and new purchases, would be funded from an 8-billion-euro funding mechanism called the European Peace Facility.
Ambassadors will finalize the deal in Brussels on Friday so that leaders can announce it at a summit next week, diplomats told EUobserver.
Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there on February 24, 2022.
