POLITICSEUROPE
EU foreign ministers discuss Ukraine military aid proposal
4 hours ago4 hours ago
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell said foreign ministers would discuss a €20 billion military aid deal for Ukraine. The global food supply and Turkey’s ties to the bloc will also be on the agenda.
https://p.dw.com/p/4U9g9
Ukrainian soldiers in a tank
Aid for Ukraine’s military is one of the topic EU foreign ministers will discuss at a meetingImage: Diego Herrera Carcedo/AA/picture alliance
European Union foreign ministers are expected to discuss a proposal brought forward Thursday by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to spend up to €20 billion ($22.4 billion) on weapons, ammunition and other military aid for Ukraine over four years.
According to EU officials and diplomats, Josep Borrell proposed adding an annual contribution of up to €5 billion for Ukraine into an EU-managed fund called the European Peace Facility to support Ukraine as it fights a Russian invasion.
The fund has already disbursed over €5 billion in support to Ukraine since February of last year. If approved, the additional funding would span from 2024 to 2027, ensuring a more stable and sustainable supply of military aid to Ukraine.
Borrell had previously called for a new funding mechanism called the “Ukraine Defence Fund,” emphasizing the importance of maintaining Ukraine’s security during and after the conflict. The Peace Facility would reimburse EU countries for a part of their expenses when providing weapons, ammunition and military aid to countries outside the EU.
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According to officials and diplomats, the proposal will only be discussed briefly and should be decided at a later meeting at the end of August in Spain. EU governments are also set to consider a separate proposal from the European Commission, which seeks to provide €50 billion in economic aid to Ukraine over the same four-year period.
‘Major global food supply crisis’ due to suspension of grain exports
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent reelection and his turnaround in Sweden’s NATO membership bid are also set to be part of the EU foreign minister’s discussions. Turkey played a crucial mediating role in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and is currently working to revive a United Nations-brokered grain deal.
According to Borrell, Russia was responsible for a major global food supply crisis, the EU’s foreign policy chief said days after the Kremlin announced it would suspend the agreement for Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.
Before heading into the foreign ministers meeting, Borrell told journalists that “what we already know is that this is going to create a big and huge food crisis in the world…”. He also claimed that Russia had deliberately attacked grain storage facilities in the southern port city of Odessa, which he said would further deepen the food crisis.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced plans to increase international efforts aimed at transporting grain out of Ukraine after Russia suspended its export deal.
Baerbock: Putin’s threat to ships an ‘attack on international order’
Baerbock described an option of transporting grain out of the country via rail so the food reaches the people who urgently need it rather than “rot in silos in the coming weeks.”
Baerbock said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats toward merchant ships in the Black Sea were “an attack on the international order.”
los/sms (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)
