This is the beginning of an extremely complicated discussion at European Union (EU) level. On Thursday July 20, during the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Twenty-Seven will raise for the first time the question of “security commitments” to bring to Ukraine in the long term – whether it concerns the sending of military equipment or the training of soldiers – and especially their financing. By 2027, the cost of this support could reach 20 billion euros, according to several diplomatic sources in Brussels.
In Vilnius, on July 12, the G7 states (Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom) promised in a joint declaration to extend their military aid until the end of the fighting, and even beyond, in order to discourage Russia from launching new offensives. Alongside the bilateral commitments of support to Ukraine, which certain Member States are going to make, the EU intends to continue its efforts.
Three days after the start of the Russian invasion, on February 24, 2022, the EU decided to use the European Peace Facility (EPF), contributed by each country, to finance the delivery of arms to Ukraine. Concretely, the Member States which send equipment can be reimbursed part of the price thanks to this common pot.
While at its launch, in 2021 before the war, this FEP was endowed with 5.5 billion euros for the period 2021-2027, its ceiling was doubled this year to nearly 12 billion. “But now we are not talking about increasing this ceiling by a few billion, but about increasing it substantially, says a senior EU official. Our goal is to be predictable over the long term. »
After almost a year and a half of efforts, Josep Borrell, the head of European diplomacy, proposed at the end of June the creation of a specific fund dedicated to this task, a fund for the defense of Ukraine. ” [Il] would be topped up via the European Peace Facilitywe say in Brussels. It has proven itself since the beginning of the conflict. »
“More sophisticated and expensive weapon systems”
“In 2023, the level of support under the FEP will exceed 4 billion euros”, indicates the European External Action Service (EEAS) in a note sent ahead of Thursday’s Council to the Member States. “Based on this sum, and extrapolating it for the years to come, the idea is therefore to provide the FEP with a maximum of 5 billion euros per year, until 2027”, says a diplomat in Brussels. That is the sum of 20 billion over four budget years. “This amount would be disbursed gradually, in successive packages decided by the Board, as for the recent increases in the FEPadds this source. These 20 billion are an indicative multi-annual envelope. »
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