European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said this at a briefing in Brussels on Thursday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
According to Ujvari, Ukraine determines its own defense needs and submits the relevant funding requests to the European Commission.
"The process is led by Ukraine. Ukraine defines its needs, Ukraine looks at the situation on the battlefield, identifies the needs, submits what we call a 'product schedule.' We examine the product schedule, and we proceed on that basis," he said.
The spokesperson stressed that Ukraine may request funding for interceptor missiles and other military equipment even if they are manufactured outside the European Union.
"Exchanges continue. Product schedules and contracts keep coming in. We look at them in an extremely speedy fashion, and then we make the corresponding disbursements," he said, confirming that there have been no issues so far with allocating the funds.
Read also: Zelensky, Rutte discuss interceptor missile supplies for Ukraine"I'm not aware of any problems. I just want to highlight that here Ukraine needs to identify what they need. The primary objective is to look at the weaponry which is produced in the EU and Ukraine. If, for whatever reason, there is a need to go for derogation and look at the world more broadly – that is also a possibility which is incorporated into the respective regulations – so we can accommodate such scenarios as well," Ujvari said.
He added that he could not disclose details of the ongoing discussions with Ukraine regarding defense procurement financing but stressed that any decisions would be announced once the EU's internal procedures had been completed.
European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper recalled that the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, had previously urged member states with available air defense stockpiles to transfer them to Ukraine.
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