Here’s
the EU’s plan to get Ukraine ‘sustained’ military aid. A leaked internal
document
By Jacopo Barigazzi and Cory Bennett - "Politico"
BRUSSELS — The EU wants to commit
itself to defending Ukraine for the long haul. The EU’s diplomatic service has
drafted a plan, obtained by POLITICO, that recommends the bloc make a full
slate of “security commitments to Ukraine” for years to come as it fends off
Russia’s onslaught.
The suggestions from the European
External Action Service run the gamut, including everything from ensuring a
“sustained” flow of weapons to Kyiv, to continuing military education and
training, to sharing intelligence and helping connect Ukrainian and EU defense
companies.
And down the road, the draft
document adds, “Ukraine’s EU membership would be in itself a security
commitment.” To help it get there, it argues, the EU must craft “long-term and
predictable financial support” so Ukraine can rebuild.
The recommendations are mostly a
summary of the EU efforts already underway to support Ukraine. But taken
together, they are notable in their breadth and suggested longevity,
essentially outlining billions in potential support in the coming years
— a politically touchy subject given that economies are straining
and some countries are loathe to give the EU more money.
The prescriptions come against the
backdrop of a broader debate among Western allies about how to guarantee
Ukraine’s continued survival not just this summer, but for the foreseeable
future beyond.
“The more we can talk about
long-term engagements, the more we can send Putin the message that he cannot
count on European fatigue, due to elections or whatever other reason,” said one
EU diplomat, speaking anonymously to discuss the plan freely.
However, the diplomat added, this
“doesn’t mean we are betting that the war will last.” A spokesperson for the EU
diplomatic body said they don’t comment on leaked documents.
An EU umbrella
In addition to the EU, major
Western powers like the United States, Britain, Germany and France are working to
craft their own security “umbrella” that would allow other countries to join
and make their own varying pledges to provide ongoing military aid for
Ukraine.
Separately, NATO is working on
ways to modernize Ukraine’s military and prepare for it to one day join the
military alliance. EU security pledges would add to these plans, albeit
carrying somewhat less resonance.
The EU as an entity is, by design,
constrained in what it can do militarily. While it can provide
assistance like military training and education, for example, it cannot
actually give Ukraine weapons. Instead, Brussels has been encouraging EU
countries to send their own arms by offering partial reimbursements for such
donations.
The document envisions this
reimbursement system as a pillar of the EU’s long-term military support for
Ukraine, saying officials will “soon” offer a plan to create a “dedicated” pot
of money for such efforts that would run through 2027.
“This will be a core element of
[the] EU’s security commitment to Ukraine in the short to longer term,” it
says.
The EU has been partially paying
countries back for their arms donations through a once little-known fund dubbed
the European Peace Facility. That pot of money sits outside the normal EU
budget, allowing its use for weapons. The setup also lets EU leaders sign off
on new cash infusions without affecting the EU’s regular budget.
Recently, leaders authorized
another €3.5 billion for the fund, bringing its total to
€12 billion. Part of that injection, €1 billion, is expected to be specifically
dedicated to Ukraine, according to several diplomats who spoke anonymously to
describe the plans.
The draft document says the EU
will spend €4 billion from the fund this year alone to help cover arms for
Ukraine. And over time, it adds, the fund should evolve, moving from
reimbursements for items like ammunition to subsidizing joint EU weapons
purchases and “more sophisticated and costly weapons systems.”
Specifically, the document argues
the EU should be “co-funding” countries’ attempts to procure missiles and
fighter jets as part of a long-term plan to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses.
Separately, the document is keen
to tout the extent of EU-provided military training, saying that 25,000
Ukrainian military personnel have either completed or are currently undergoing
training. Yet new goal posts, it argues, are needed.
The document is a follow-up to a
pledge that EU leaders made
following their summit last month in Brussels. In a joint statement, the 27
leaders said they “stand ready to contribute, together with partners, to future
security commitments to Ukraine.”
The document argues the EU’s
iron-clad unity with Ukraine is existential, calling Russia’s war “a
fundamental challenge to European peace and security.” Russia, it says, is
“unlikely to abandon its goal to subjugate Ukraine.”
Because of that, it adds, “Ukraine
will continue to need [the] EU’s long-term commitment and support to secure its
free and democratic European future.”
***
(Jacopo
Barigazzi and Cory Bennett www.politico.eu)