[ad_1]
EU member states agreed on Wednesday to add 5 billion euros to a central fund to pay for arms sent to Ukraine.
Publication of:
2 minutes
The move is a welcome boost for Kiev as support from the United States, another major backer, wavers and its outnumbered military struggles to hold off Russia.
Belgium, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, announced that ambassadors from the 27 EU member states have agreed “in principle” to a plan to support the supply of arms to Kyiv for 5 billion euros in 2024.
In the wake of the 2022 Moscow invasion, the European Union agreed for the first time to finance arms deliveries to countries at war.
It has since pledged 6.1 billion euros from the center to reimburse part of the cost of arms sent by member states to Ukraine.
Efforts to boost EU funds by another 5 billion euros have been delayed for several months due to disputes between Germany and France.
But, according to Politico, “the vast majority of donations to the fund aren’t actually in the form of new cash.
The magazine said: “In fact, EU countries can discount bilateral arms shipments as ‘contributions’ to the Fund. Germany has already said it will not pay the 1.2 billion euros and will instead count its arms shipments as contributions. . ”
compromise
Berlin insisted that bilateral aid to Ukraine should be offset against its contributions, and Paris demanded that only weapons produced in Europe should be reimbursed.
Diplomats said Germany, the largest contributor to the fund, had reached a compromise with Brussels to offset some of its bilateral support for the fund.
They said France was also satisfied with the promise that countries would prioritize purchases from European defense companies but could also look outside the EU if certain munitions or systems were not readily available. .
Brussels said some 28 billion euros in total had been spent from member states and EU coffers to support the Ukrainian military since the Kremlin started the war.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal welcomed the additional funding.
“Thank you Josep Borrell for your unwavering support to Ukraine on its path to victory,” he wrote on X, referring to the EU foreign affairs chief.
French President Emmanuel Macron will speak on state television Thursday night at 8pm about France’s role in supporting Ukraine, after the French parliament voted in favor of his Ukraine strategy earlier this week.
(with news wire)
[ad_2]
Source link
