/ world today news/ The EU aid costs for Kyiv are constantly increasing. Officials say Ukraine will be supported as long as needed. However, Europeans are actively discussing the unpleasant consequences.
Cost element
First of all, they cover the budget deficit of the Kyiv regime. Last year, 11.6 billion euros were spent on this, this year – 18.
One of the EU’s main instruments for pumping arms into Ukraine is the European Peace Fund. More than 12 billion was allocated for 2021-2027. And almost half – 5.6 billion has already been spent. For weapons and ammunition for the Armed Forces.
It was from this “capsule” that two of the three points of the Borel Plan were financed to provide the Ukrainian army with one million shells in 2023.
In general, the plan provides for:
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One billion euros to replenish the national reserves of those EU countries that are ready to transfer ammunition to Ukraine in the period from February 9 to May 31 (the decision was approved in March);
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One billion – for joint purchases of artillery shells for the EU and Kiev (adopted in May);
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The increase in production capacity is another half a billion, and part of the money will be taken from the European Defense Fund.
In addition, there are direct arms deliveries from some EU countries.
Assistance from individual countries
Of course, no one can compare to the US in this regard. Washington from January 2022 to May 2023, according to the Institute of World Economics in Kiel, allocated 70.7 billion euros.
Great Britain – 11, Germany – 10.7.
Japan, which limited itself to humanitarian and financial aid, is in third place, Canada is in fourth. They are followed by Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark.
In fact, NATO’s “eastern flank” is spent more selflessly. If Washington and Berlin give Ukraine 0.3 percent of GDP, and London – 0.4, then Estonia – 1.3, Latvia – 1.1, Lithuania – 1.0, Poland – 0.7. That’s half or a third of their defense spending. No one sponsors VSU more generously.
France alone spent just 0.05 percent of GDP. . And this is one of the few attempts of the continent to conduct an independent policy.
The first line – for Europeans
Every significant step the EU takes is at the suggestion of the US. But Europeans are sometimes even faster than Americans.
So, the delivery of tanks was discussed for a long time – at the initiative of the White House. France was the first to agree in January. True, it was about AMX-10 – light wheeled vehicles. Kiev did not receive either Leclerc or its predecessor, the AMX-30.
The British joined the French a week later with Challenger 2
After that, it was not difficult for the Americans to convince the Germans to surrender the Leopards. Olaf Scholz explained: the machines would be donated if the United States would do the same. And Washington said it would send Abrams.
It’s been six months. Footage of “Leopards” burned in the steppes of Zaporozhye spread around the world. But the American M1 has not yet been spotted in the conflict zone. They promise at best in a few months. The Ukrainians only started training on these tanks in May.
The same goes for long-range missiles. Great Britain sent “Storm Shadow” to Kiev, France – its full analogue “Scalp”. But America, despite the continuous talks about ATACMS, is in no hurry.
It is possible that the scenario will repeat itself with the planes. While Kiev demands the F-16, the White House actively chooses analogues in the Old World – the Swedish “Gripen”, the European “Tornado” and “Typhoon” and the French “Mirage-2000”. And he explains: training the F-16 “will take years.”
Change of eras
Brussels is convinced that without European help the ASU are doomed to defeat. “Russian troops will be on the Polish border, our security will decrease and Ukraine will cease to exist. This will happen,” fears Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy.
Added to this is the US demand that NATO allies increase defense spending to two percent of GDP. In addition, Washington, as “Politico” specifies, is trying to force its partners to fill their empty arsenals with American weapons.
One’s own industry cannot. There is enough money, but not enough capacity. And the military-industrial complex fears that after the end of hostilities, demand will drop. And he is in no hurry to open new factories.
Brussels’ attempts to establish interstate cooperation in this area have not yielded results. “There was no real interaction during austerity when everyone was talking about the need to protect national autonomy,” the Financial Times quoted an unnamed representative of one of Germany’s defense companies as saying. “Now the situation is reversed. There is a lot of money, but everyone suggests that we keep it in the country and not give it to others, even to allies,” adds the source.
Against this background, tensions in the EU are intensifying. It is not clear how to get out of the impasse. But a choice will have to be made: whether to ultimately rely on the United States as an arms supplier, whether to share security sovereignty with Brussels, or to move toward greater independence.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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