On Wednesday 16 July, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called for a greater commitment by Member States to the ‘Danish model’ of support for Ukraine. The Danish model involves directly financing the Ukrainian defence industry (see EUROPE 13672/20).
“There is an interest in using it, but this interest deserves much more attention than the few countries that have used it so far and can make donations via the Danish model”, he explained at a hearing to present the Danish Presidency of the EU Council’s priorities to the European Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence.
“We expect that in 2025 we will spend nearly €1 billion on behalf of the EU and the Commission through the (extraordinary profits from) frozen Russian assets. (...) And we expect that in total, thanks to Danish and international contributions, we will be able to support Ukrainian industry in 2025 with around €1.5 billion”, he added, which however, is far from Ukrainian industry’s immediate need of $20 billion.
The minister pointed out that Ukrainian industry was faster than that of Member States, with prices one third lower than those in the EU. Moreover, “when systems are produced in Ukraine, they are also able to ensure maintenance and production of spare parts for such a system to a much better extent, thanks to a permanent operational capability. Some systems donated by European countries are difficult to maintain on the battlefield”, he added.
Troels Lund Poulsen also felt that Europeans could learn from Ukraine. “Three years ago, in 2022, Ukraine’s production capacity for its military industry was $3 billion. By the end of the year, it should reach $40 billion”, he said, explaining that Europeans could learn from Ukrainians in developing the right capabilities. “The biggest challenge we face is how to avoid investing in inappropriate military capabilities. We need to learn more from the Ukrainian experience, from the way in which the Ukrainians have managed to acquire totally new military capabilities in just a few years”, he added, citing drones. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)