Special AGERPRES correspondent Florin Stefan reports: The defence ministers and foreign ministers of the EU member states will meet on Tuesday, in Brussels, in two successive meetings in the format of the Foreign Affairs Council, to discuss aid for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, but also the implementation of the plans for rearmament of Europe.

First, the defence ministers of the member states will meet in the morning to discuss the EU's military support for Ukraine, after an informal exchange of views via videoconference with the Ukrainian minister of defence, Rustem Umerov, in the presence of the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte.

The defence ministers will also have a discussion on the implementation of the European Defence White Paper - Readiness 2030, but also on the ReArm Europe Plan.

Diplomats in Brussels told AFP on Monday that EU countries had reached an agreement in principle to facilitate joint arms purchases under a European programme worth around 150 billion euros, part of the ReArm Europe plan announced by Ursula von der Leyen.

This programme, called 'Safe,' provides for loans of 150 billion euros to jointly finance arms purchases and projects in areas where European supply is insufficient, such as the production of missiles, ammunition, drones or air defence systems.

It is already planned that several non-EU countries can already participate, such as Norway or Ukraine, as they have signed a defence and security partnership. The United Kingdom and the EU signed a similar partnership agreement in London on Monday, which will allow London, after further negotiations, to fully integrate into this European programme.

If the United Kingdom joins the programme, it will be considered a European manufacturer, without any difference from any other EU member state, a European official quoted by AFP assured.

And this is an important element, but the emphasis has been placed on the need to encourage the European defence industry in a context in which most of the current arms purchases by EU countries are made from outside Europe, mainly from the USA.

Armament projects will have to be carried out mostly by the European defence industry, at the level of 65% of the components, while the rest may come from non-member countries of the SAFE programme, such as the USA, in a proportion of a maximum of 35%.

Out of the desire to avoid a third country being able to remotely control the weapons produced thanks to one of its components, a central authority will be tasked with ensuring that this will be impossible. The idea is, for example, to prevent the American manufacturer of software integrated into a European drone, developed thanks to the 'Safe' programme, from being able to control it remotely from the United States, a European source explained to AFP.

The ambassadors of the 27 are to formalize this agreement in principle at a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on Wednesday, but a definitive agreement is expected on May 27, on the occasion of a future meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states.

Also on Tuesday, around noon, the defence ministers will participate in a meeting of the board of directors of the European Defence Agency (EDA).

In the afternoon, the EU foreign ministers will discuss the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, after a videoconference with the Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sibiga.

The Foreign Affairs Council will also discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and Syria, according to the agenda on the Council's website. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Mariana Ionescu, EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)