EU does not expect approval of €20 billion in arms aid to Ukraine by end of 2023

Negotiations on the creation of a €20 billion special fund under the European Peace Facility to help Ukraine are dragging on, and the EU does not expect a decision to be agreed before the EU's multi-annual budget is revised at the December summit.

Source: Euractiv with reference to sources in the EU, reported by European Pravda

Details: The plan to allocate €20 billion for the European Peace Facility first became official in July. At that time, Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said that it could be a four-year "special fund" of €5 billion a year.

At the next December summit, the leaders of the 27 EU countries are expected to discuss the budget revision proposed by the European Commission, including the creation of a new strategic technology fund and replenishment of the European Peace Facility.

This fund is considered by EU member states to be a crucial factor in providing weapons to Ukraine, as it will reimburse them for the cost of supplies. And its increase is part of the "security commitments" that the EU offered to Ukraine.

Quote from one of the sources: "We are not expecting any answer on the matter before the European Council in December, where leaders will put everything related to budget matters on the table to take a decision."

Details: The source added that the summit will consider the entire package of support for Ukraine, including macro-financial assistance worth €50 billion. Due to the significant amount of money involved, European diplomats predict that the decision "might be laborious".

Euractiv also pointed out that resistance to increasing the budget of the European Peace Facility may come at least from Slovakia, where Robert Fico, the soon-to-be Prime Minister with an anti-Ukrainian stance, will soon come to power; as well as Hungary, which has previously publicly opposed the expansion of the fund to finance weapons for Kyiv.

Although the EU already provides similar assistance to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility, it is provided in tranches that can be blocked by individual member states. In addition, the fund is rapidly running out of money, and only recently had to be increased.

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