The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Joseph Borell announced on Sunday that the EU will allocate €500M from the special European Peace Facility (EPF) fund to procure weapons and equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In a virtual conference, EU foreign ministers agreed to the plan. For €450M, EU member states are to supply weapon systems including fighter jets and ammunition. €50M willbe used for fuel and protective equipment. Poland has offered itself as a logistical hub for the delivery of the equipment and systems.
On 22 March 2021, the European Union established the EPF and endowed it with €5Bn for the period 2021 to 2027. The EPF is outside the EU budget and is dedicated to conflict prevention, peacekeeping and strengthening international stability and security. Supporting military operations is at the top of the list of tasks.
Since 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, the EU supported Ukraine with more than €17M, Borell said. For example, in December 2021, €31M had been used to support field hospitals, logistics, mobility and cyber tasks of the Ukrainian armed forces from the EPF.
For the first time in its history, the EU is funding the procurement of weapons. This is a watershed, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assessed the paradigm shift underlying this decision.
