On Tuesday 15 November, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, hoped for an agreement before the end of the year on the refinancing of the European Peace Facility (EPF).
“I hope that by the end of the year we will be able to make a decision to ensure the sustainability of the Facility”, Borrell said at the end of the Defence Council meeting, which discussed the issue.
On Friday 11 November, a senior official had hoped for a decision at the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 December and a presentation at the EU summit due to take place from 15 to 16 December. While the budget allocated for 2021-2027 is €5.7 billion, 85 to 86% of the package has already been used, according to this senior European official. “It is a victim of its own success”, they said ironically.
The Facility was created before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, and €3.1 billion of its funds have already been spent on supplying arms to Ukraine (see other news).
“We must ensure the sustainability of the Facility because, unfortunately, the war will continue, and there are many other scenarios where we need to engage and support partners”, Borrell said. “There is an urgent need to keep the Facility sustainable in order to have effective, rapid financing in times of crisis”, he added.
Asked by EUROPE how much the Facility would need to be in order to be ‘sustainable’, Borrell said he “honestly didn’t know” while pointing out that two-thirds of the Facility were already committed and that there was “a long queue of requests to fulfil”.
According to a senior official, “we need to find a way to resupply” while admitting that this complex issue required detailed consultations. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)