Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and France's President Emmanuel Macron. File Photo- AP
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and France's President Emmanuel Macron. File Photo- AP
New Delhi: In a major shift in the geopolitical order, France has reportedly blocked the decision of the European Union to finance and send a million artillery shells to Ukraine.
The EU foreign ministers approved the groundbreaking package on March 20 this year to fund the supply of ammunition to Ukraine. Of the proposed €2 billion, half was to be used to reimburse supplies of ammunition from member states’ warehouses. But there are not enough missiles available in these warehouses, which is why the idea of purchasing them from outside the EU has emerged, an official said.
“However, this was opposed by France. In this situation, the solution would be to procure ammunition from a third country on a donated basis, and then recover it from the warehouses of a member state by transferring other weapons to the third country. Talks are underway on this matter,” Polish news agency PAP said citing a senior EU official.
Officials familiar with the matter said that the plan is being held up as member states argue over how far spending for the plan will stay within the EU.
A bigger problem is with the second billion euros, which is to be allocated for joint orders from European industry, i.e., de facto in Poland, France and Germany.
“The French blocked the EU decision on the second billion euros before Christmas. The draft contained a provision that the ammunition was to be reimbursed only on the basis of requests submitted by Ukraine. Paris, however, wants, without explaining why, this provision to be deleted. This would also mean the possibility of refunding ammunition which the Ukrainian side has not asked for. In addition to the decision on ammunition, France wants to add the possibility of compensating for missile deliveries,” a senior EU source told PAP.
A storm of criticism erupted recently after Macron said Europe should not become a “vassal” and must avoid being drawn into any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan.
The French President’s remarks came after his China visit where; he was given a full red-carpet welcome in China despite his tough stand against Beijing over its support to Russia in the Ukraine war. This unusually lavish hospitality was seen as a sign of Beijing’s attempt to wean away allies from the United States.
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