“On March 17, Italy and Spain made it clear that they were not ready to support the proposal of the head of the EU Foreign Policy Callas on the allocation of up to 40 billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine this year.”, – WRITE: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: “European Truth” with reference to Reuters material
Details: The proposal of the head of the EU Foreign Policy Callas may mean the doubling of Ukraine’s military support in its war against the Russian invasion, since in 2024 the European Union and its members allocated about 20 billion euros.
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After meeting on Monday, foreign ministers 27 EU countries in Brussels Callas stated that its proposal has “broad political support” and now discuss details.
According to diplomats, the proposal has strong support from the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe.
But some Southern European capitals were more restrained, reflecting the division between those who were geographically closer to Russia who provided more assistance to Ukraine and those who continued to provide less.
Estonia, Denmark and Lithuania are leading in this area in Europe, allocated more than 2% of their GDP to help Kiev from January 2022 to December 2024, according to Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Speaking to the meeting, the ministers of Italy and Spain – the third and fourth largest EU economies – stated that it was too early to take the final position on this proposal. According to diplomats, France also raised the question about the plan.
Italy Foreign Minister Antonio Tayani stated that the proposal will need to be discussed deeply in the light of future events.
“We are waiting for a telephone conversation between Trump and Putin to see if any steps will be taken to reach the ceasefire,” he said, adding that Italy should also find money to increase our own defense costs.
“There are many costs that need to be solved,” he said.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albars said: “We will see how the debate will take place, but there is no decision on this issue at this time.”
Albers reported that Spain has already undertaken to provide 1 billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine this year.
According to three EU diplomats, during the discussion of ministers against Ukraine, Slovakia made it clear that it would not interfere with the plan, but also refused to contribute.
Both Hungary and Slovakia do not provide military assistance to Ukraine, but EU officials say that they will not be able to block this proposal because the contributions will be voluntary.
Also read: “Decide” coalition for Ukraine and the EU. As a new security union has to save confidence in Brussels.
Recall:
- The large military assistance package to Ukraine proposed by Kai Callas will be discussed at an informal meeting of EU Defense Ministers in Warsaw on April 2-3.