On Monday 18 March, European foreign ministers agreed to the creation of a dedicated ‘Ukraine Assistance Fund’ (UAF) within the ‘European Peace Facility’. The UAF will have an allocation of €5 billion in current prices and the financial ceiling of the ‘European Peace Facility’ now stands at over €17 billion for the 2021-2027 period.
“This will add predictability to our military support, which remains guided by the needs of Ukraine”, stressed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, after the EU Council meeting.
The UAF should enable the continuation of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM), the reimbursement of deliveries from stocks and individual purchases, as well as deliveries based on joint European purchases (see EUROPE 13372/17).
The Council decided to improve the governance rules for the facility, which will build on “well-functioning national procurement structures as well as existing framework contracts, leveraging both a lead nation approach and the European Defence Agency (EDA) and including the joint procurement of the required defence equipment from the European defence industry and Norway (...), while allowing for flexibility in supply chains which may include operators established or with production facilities outside the EU or Norway”, according to its press release.
The High Representative specified that ammunition purchased by Member States from third countries to be sent to Kyiv, via the initiative launched by the Czech Republic, would be eligible for reimbursements from the UAF.
The reimbursement of Member States’ donations (i.e. from stocks, unilateral and joint purchases of equipment available in the market, and new unilateral procurement) will be limited after a transition period, the EU Council stated in its press release.
On the same day, the German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, and the Polish Defence Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, announced that their countries wanted to work together to increase the production of munitions for Ukraine and that they would be reactivating a coalition of armoured capabilities on 26 March.
Doing more
Despite the agreement on the UAF, the EU High Representative and several ministers called for the delivery of arms and munitions to Ukraine to be sped up. “We need urgent action in Ukraine, both here and in the US [...] it is clear that action is urgent. If we want to continue providing support to Ukraine [...] both parts have to accelerate decisions on that”, explained Mr Borrell, after a discussion between the ministers and their American counterpart, Antony Blinken, and then their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. Congress is still blocking $60 billion in support for Ukraine.
On his arrival at the Council, the Lithuanian minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, was very pessimistic, congratulating “Ukrainians on what they managed to achieve, despite our inability to offer them assistance”. He added that the Council should be an opportunity to discuss what Europeans “cannot do [for] Ukraine”.
“We cannot agree on a new sanctions package. Apparently, there are difficulties for us to find a date for an intergovernmental conference, which would kick off Ukrainian membership negotiations. We will not be able to agree on additional military assistance to the Ukraine and so many other things”, he denounced. The eighth tranche of the European Peace Facility, worth €500 million, is still blocked.
Ukrainians and Europeans will meet in Brussels on Wednesday 20 March for the ninth meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)