At the beginning of March, EU member states will discuss the artillery ammunition procurement scheme for Ukraine.

This was discussed at the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union on February 20.

Specifically, according to Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Slovenia is among the 22 EU countries that support the joint EU procurement of ammunition for Ukraine.

The defense ministers will discuss establishing an EU purchase mechanism at an informal meeting in early March.

The proposal will be presented by Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, in Stockholm on March 7-8, Ukrinform reports.

He noted that the EU has the necessary tools to provide assistance to Ukraine. Support programs, including the supply of weapons, will be financed through the European Peace Fund.

At the same time, he emphasized that issues related to assistance to Ukraine should be resolved immediately.

“The Ukrainian army urgently needs a large amount of ammunition to resist Russian aggression. They have weapons, but those weapons need shells, especially tanks, and artillery. We need to increase the capabilities of the European defense industry, in particular through a possible joint order at the European level to respond to Ukraine’s immediate needs,” Borrell said.

He added that the best way to support the Ukrainian military is to use the warehouses of European armies, as this does not prompt waiting.

“We have to use what has already been produced and is in our stockpiles, or what was already contracted and will be produced in the next few days. Priority should be given to the necessary supplies for the Ukrainian military. As much as we can. So, in terms of (ammunition supply – ed.), we have short-term, medium-term, and long-term tasks. But short-term, immediate efforts are most important now. We are talking about time measured in weeks,” Josep Borrell added.

As previously reported, the United States has announced an order worth nearly $1 billion to increase the production of 155mm rounds.