France and Poland have argued because the EU cannot agree on the implementation of a plan to supply Ukraine with a million rounds of ammunition. The ambassadors of the EU member states cannot decide which companies will receive contracts from the European Union — only local ones or also those that are not part of the bloc.
Politico writes about it.
EU ambassadors are trying to get out of the impasse on the implementation of this plan. Despite the fact that EU leaders approved this plan and allocated money for it, there is still no agreement on the details of its implementation.
The main point of contention is how much to limit the money for EU manufacturers and whether to include companies from countries such as the US and UK. France wants to keep money within the bloc, which annoys some of its EU compatriots.
Franceʼs ambassador to the EU accused his Polish counterpart of accusing Paris of obstructing a final deal. The French official noted that Paris is simply pragmatic, adding that EU countries have already agreed to spend another billion euros on compensation for the purchase of ammunition to Ukraine. The Polish official replied that France was only complicating the ongoing negotiations.
In the end, Sweden, which currently holds the EU presidency, intervened. There they offered an updated agreement. The compromise document limited future contracts to "economic operators established in the European Union and Norway", but included a line that the directive should not set a precedent.
- On March 20, the EU member states agreed to purchase one million 155 mm ammunition for the Armed Forces over the next 12 months. In the EU, there are three directions: one billion euros for immediate delivery, one billion euros for joint procurement, as well as a mandate to increase production capacity. Politico wrote that EU members are still considering how to implement the agreement.