Defence ministers discussed military support for Ukraine, on Monday 8 June during their informal meeting in Cyprus, in particular the funds available under the ‘European Peace Facility’, following Hungary’s unblocking of €6.6 billion.
Speaking to the media at the end of the meeting, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, announced that she had proposed to “use these funds to reimburse the Member States for the past weapons deliveries, to finance new joint procurements, and to sustain operations in the EUMAM (military assistance) mission in Ukraine”.
These funds were initially intended to reimburse Member States, but some of them, including Germany, would like the money to go directly to Ukraine. The EU has received claims totalling 43 billion euros. According to Euronews in Polish, the High Representative, in her proposal, would like to allocate €900 million to EUMAM and €1 billion to direct arms purchases by Ukraine. Of the remaining €4.7 billion to be reimbursed to Member States, the High Representative is reportedly proposing that the distribution of funds should no longer be proportional to the expenditure incurred, but that each Member State should receive a share equivalent to around 10% of the costs incurred in providing the assistance. This proposal is not expected to meet with unanimous approval among the Member States.
Ministers also examined the possibility of deepening defence industrial cooperation with Ukraine, particularly in the area of air defence. This cooperation “must go hand in hand with facilitating production of Ukrainian systems in the European Union and establishing European companies in Ukraine”, Ms Kallas specified.
She also recalled that the first disbursement, amounting to €5.9 billion, from the military component of the €90 billion loan intended for Ukraine will be paid out in June and devoted to the purchase of drones.
Ukraine Facility. Moreover, while the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, is in Ukraine, the Commission has released nearly €2.8 billion for Ukraine under its Ukraine Facility, following Ukraine’s implementation of several reforms, notably on public finance management, the judicial system, financial markets, human capital, the business environment, energy, agriculture, critical raw materials, digitalisation and the green transition.
With this seventh disbursement under the Facility, total EU support under the Facility reaches €29.5 billion, or nearly 77% of the funds available under the mechanism’s first pillar, which provides direct support to the State’s budget. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)