European Union ministers met in Brussels today to gain unanimous approval for arms shipment to Iraqi Kurds fighting the Islamic State militants in Iraq.

The emergency meeting came days after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius denounced his co-EU ministers for being on vacation, while the Islamists were killing civilians in Iraq. Fabius wrote to EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton to demand a meeting on the pressing issue, RTE News relayed.

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After writing the letter earlier this week, Fabius said the ministers have to return from their holidays because "there are people dying."

Being the current EU leader, Ashton called for a discussion on the Iraq situation. She mentioned plans of ordering not only military intervention, but also giving military support to the Kurds.

France and Britain already announced their plans to ship weapons to the Kurdish government to help them push back the Islamic State forces. However, reports of Iraqi minorities and Christians being under siege pushed European nations to push for an EU-backed arms support.

EU states became increasingly alarmed when the Jihadists were able to recruit European fighters returning home. Campaigns for arms support for the Kurds increased ahead of the meeting to include even the most cautious states.

This week, Germany vowed to expedite the shipment of armored vehicles, flak vests, helmets, and other "non-lethal" supplies to Iraq. Sweden, a country whose government usually does involve in military missions, seemed to warm up to the idea as well.

In a tweet, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the threat of the Islamic State is still present although rescue mission for besieged Yazidis in Iraq seemed unnecessary at this time.

Yesterday, Fabius tweeted that the EU meeting he initiated took place at Ashton's office. Twenty out of the 28 EU ministers were expected to attend the talks.

Aside from the Iraq crisis, the EU ministers will also discuss the situations in Ukraine and Gaza. They will also touch on Spain's request to deal with the Ebola crisis in western Africa.

TagsEuropean Union, EU, Iraq, Kurds, Laurent Fabius, Catherine Ashton, RTE News, Germany, Christians, Yazidis, Sweden, Carl Bildt, Ukraine, Gaza, Africa