The European Union has urged the bloc's defense ministers to coordinate arms purchases to get better terms from suppliers as EU members seek to replenish stocks depleted by shipments to Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Western countries are rushing to replenish weapons and ammunition stocks after huge shipments of weapons were sent to Kiev, requiring the industry to ramp up capacity to meet growing demand.

"It is urgent to restore the readiness of our European armed forces and replenish depleted stocks," Stijn Mols, the head of the EU diplomatic service's security and defence division, told a European Parliament committee.

The next meeting of EU defense ministers is Nov. 15, and Mols said he hopes they will present concrete proposals for coordinated arms purchases.

According to Mols, European countries need air and missile defenses, anti-tank and artillery systems and drones. Brussels hopes for five to seven "emblematic projects" to coordinate member states' purchases in areas such as ammunition.

Defense procurement in the EU is rarely done jointly as countries seek to support domestic industry. "It is now really the occasion for all of us to set aside these long-standing... national interests," Mols said.

Timo Pesonen, head of the European Commission's directorate general for defense, industry and space, said EU countries have neglected investing in defense for too long. While EU investments have increased 22 percent in 20 years, they have increased 66 percent in the United States, nearly 300 percent in Russia and more than 600 percent in China, he said.