Following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called for the transfer of existing ammunition stocks to Ukraine, the European Pravda reports.
"We have to launch procedures to increase the capacity of the European industry to produce more [ammunition - ed.] and quicker. And it is obvious that we have to enhance our efforts not only with possible procurement at the EU level for meeting Ukraine’s current needs," Borrell said.
He also emphasized that in the coming weeks the best way to provide Ukraine with ammunition is to transfer the stocks already available in European armies.
"We do not need to wait when it [ammunition – ed.] is manufactured. We need to use what is produced already and being stored in storage points and will be produced in the nearest days. Priority has to be given to the supplies for the Ukrainian army, as much as we can," Borrell emphasized.
At the same time, he added that this issue concerns EU defence ministers rather than foreign ministers.
Specific proposals to the defence ministers in this regard are to be presented at the next meeting of the EU Council on 7-8 March.