Members of the European Parliament agreed (with 515 votes in favor, 62 against, and 20 abstentions) to postpone the vote on the discharge to the EU Council until the next plenary session, pending a decision by the member states to supply Ukraine with missile defense systems.
The annual approval of the accounts is a crucial part of the Parliament’s role in budgetary oversight. Non-approval is considered an orange warning; disapproval is a political rejection.
Belgian liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt called for such a decision, referring to statements by EU High Representative Josep Borrell. The EU 'foreign minister' urged EU member states last week to provide Ukraine with seven Patriot anti-missile systems out of the hundred possessed by EU countries.
"In recent weeks, you have all seen Russian bombardments of Ukrainian cities, hospitals, and residential buildings. Meanwhile, the EU Council is unable to reach a decision and send a certain number of anti-missile systems to Ukraine," said Guy Verhofstadt. He stressed that there are one hundred Patriot systems in Europe and Ukraine only wants seven of them.
Germany reported that it would search worldwide for Patriot systems for Ukraine, together with the Netherlands and the United States. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the search is being conducted not only within NATO countries but across the entire world.
American Patriot air defense systems outside NATO are in use in Israel, Jordan, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan.