European Parliament refuses to agree on funding for Council of the EU until Ukraine is given Patriot systems

The European Parliament refused to vote on the financing for the Council of the European Union because EU countries were unable to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot systems.

Source: European Pravda with reference to MEPs present at the meeting

Details: Guy Verhofstadt, a long-term MEP and former Belgian Prime Minister, of the Renew Europe political faction, proposed removing budget approval from the European Council agenda until member countries can find the seven Patriot systems that Ukraine urgently needs.

Verhofstadt cited the head of European diplomacy's statement that European countries have one hundred Patriot systems, while Ukraine only requires seven.

His proposal was met with thunderous applause.

The decision is referred to as an unprecedented event. He had the support of 515 European parliamentarians, while 62 were opposed.

Quote: "Parliament refuses [the] discharge of the Council budget until [the] European Council decided to support Ukraine with additional Patriot anti-missile systems!" Verhofstadt wrote on Twitter (X).

"Just now: The European Parliament has suspended the decision on financing the EU Council for failing to deliver Patriot systems to Ukraine," Andrius Kubilius, a Lithuanian MEP, commented.  

After another Russian missile attack on the night of 10-11 April, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine needs strong air defence and other defensive support, not ignoring and lengthy discussions.

He stated that some of the assault drones and missiles were shot down, but others still struck critical infrastructure in a variety of locations.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke with Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday 10 April about the details of negotiations on the supply of Patriot air defence systems.

Kuleba explained the change in Ukraine's tone on the issue of receiving air defence systems from Western partners, saying that "soft and quiet diplomacy hasn’t worked". He said he hoped his new style of tough diplomacy would help bring about a breakthrough.

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