On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticised the EU for "not implementing its own decision" to jointly procure ammunition for Ukraine.

While bloc members are debating how to implement the plans, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday criticised the EU for „not implementing its own decision” to jointly purchase ammunition for Ukraine, the Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet points out.

“The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating,”

FM Kuleba wrote on Twitter, marking a change in tone from Kyiv.

The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating. This is a test of whether the EU has strategic autonomy in making new crucial security decisions. For Ukraine, the cost of inaction is measured in human lives.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 20, 2023

EU leaders agreed last month to join forces to deliver 1 million rounds of ammunition to Kyiv over the next 12 months, financed through a joint fund. However, negotiations stalled at the ambassadorial level as no agreement was reached on how to spend the 1 billion euros earmarked for joint contracts.

„This is a test of whether the EU has strategic autonomy in making new crucial security decisions,” Mr Kuleba said, „Strategic autonomy” echoes French President Emmanuel Macron’s favourite expression, which he used when he recently sparked controversy by saying that Europe must not become „followers of America”.

France has been leading the charge to keep the money within the bloc, while others, including Poland, fear that Europe’s defense industry may not be up to the task of delivering 1 million shells to Ukraine in the promised timeframe of 12 months.

Talks will likely continue next week, meaning EU foreign ministers won’t have a deal in hand when they meet on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss the war.

Kuleba said.