France demands restrictions on Ukraine’s weapons purchases outside the EU

France is pushing for temporary restrictions on the exemptions that allow Ukraine to purchase weapons outside the European Union using a European credit worth 90 billion euros. This is reported by Euronews.

Current rules stipulate that no more than 35% of the value of a defense product may come from suppliers outside the EU. However, Kyiv is entitled to receive exemptions from this rule in cases where no European equivalents exist, where they are insufficient, too expensive, or take too long to produce.

Two such exemptions have already been approved: for Chinese components for drones and for American Patriot interceptors.

France is insisting that such exemptions be temporary and include a subsequent transition to European manufacturers. Not all EU members share Paris’s position.

A number of states — Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, and Latvia — favor maximum freedom for Ukraine in its procurement, citing urgent frontline needs.

The day before, the European Union approved the transfer of 6.1 billion euros to Ukraine for weapons under the same 90-billion-euro credit. As previously reported, despite the receipt of funding, Ukrainian government officials continue to speak of a catastrophic shortage of funds.