European Union member states on Monday agreed on a 2 billion-euro allocation to replenish the European Peace Facility, the EU’s key instrument for supplying arms to Ukraine which is at rock bottom after having exhausted almost the entire fund with the war in Eastern Europe.
The agreement involves extending the ceiling of this extra-budgetary instrument, which relies on contributions from member states, by 2 billion by 2023, with the possibility of going up to 5.5 billion by the end of 2027. This means doubling the initial budget of the mechanism created in 2020 to finance EU military policy.
Theoretically designed to support the work of third country armies and to finance armed forces that collaborate with the EU, the European Peace Facility has become key to materialize the military support of the European bloc to Ukraine, after deciding for the first time in its history to send armament to a country at war.
Since the early stages of the war, the EU has agreed six rounds of 500 million euros each to finance the supply of military equipment to Kiev by the EU-27, so that, between the aid provided to Kiev and the forthcoming commitments, 86 percent of the fund had been exhausted, according to data provided by the EU Council.
«Today’s decision will ensure that we have the funds to continue providing concrete military support to our partners’ armed forces. In less than two years, the European Peace Facility has proved its worth. It has completely changed the way we support our defense partners,» said EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell, who argued that this instrument «makes the EU and its partners stronger».
