The European Union wants to convince the member states to allocate another 3.5 billion euros to the fund that finances arms deliveries to Ukraine. This was announced by a European official on Friday.
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Since the start of the Russian invasion, the EU has been offering Member States financial compensation for arms transfers to Ukraine. This is done through the European Peace Facility (EPF), a fund that was set up in 2021 to fund military training missions and other operations in the context of European foreign policy.
The EPF started with a budget of €5.7 billion for the period up to 2027, but the fund has been overdrawn by the war in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, 3.6 billion has already been paid out for arms deliveries to Kiev and other operations elsewhere in the world must also be funded. At the end of last year, the member states therefore already agreed to inject an extra €2 billion into the EDF.
Money quickly used up
But that money is also in danger of being used up quickly. After all, there is a proposal on the table to tap that full amount for supplies of ammunition to Ukraine: 1 billion euros for compensation for member states that want to quickly deliver ammunition from their stocks, and 1 billion euros for the joint purchase of 155mm shells. It is hoped that Member States will give the green light for this later this month.
That is why the High Representative of European Foreign and Defense Policy Josep Borrel wants to propose an additional EUR 3.5 billion. “The EPF is a victim of its own success,” the official observed. “We think the time is right to consider an increase in the budget.”
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