EU cash plan for Ukraine may die – Reuters — RT World News

Several diplomats told Reuters that the European Union’s proposal to spend about 20 billion euros on lethal aid to Ukraine faces opposition from some countries and is unlikely to continue in its current form, noting that Germany is among those who question the financing plan. .

Diplomatic staff said that while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has pushed for the four-year spending initiative since July, many member states are not yet sold on the idea, reluctant to commit such large funding up front just yet.

“Germany had a lot of questions… and rightly so. “We are talking about a lot of money.” A senior European diplomat told the outlet on Friday. “I wouldn’t declare her dead at this point yet. But of course, improvements can always be made.”

EU defense ministers are set to discuss the financing plan during their meeting in Brussels next week, with the bloc also discussing a separate proposal to provide around 50 billion euros in economic aid to Kiev.

Some member states have also expressed opposition to the financial aid, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocking the package in a vote last month. Suggestion or offer He added: “It was not formulated properly, and it was not suitable to be a basis for serious negotiations, so we rejected it.” The Prime Minister said.

Slovakia also questioned the wisdom of continuing aid to Kiev after nearly two years of conflict. Speaking to reporters in October, newly elected Prime Minister Robert Fico asked “Did financing Ukraine change the outcome of this war?” Adding rhetorically, “So let’s invest another $50 billion, and it doesn’t matter what happens?”

He added: “If the strategy is to continue pumping money there, 1.5 billion euros a month without any result, and we have to reduce our own resources? At the end of the day, we have big problems, and public money is in a difficult state.” Fico continued.

Security aid may face similar resistance, with another EU diplomat telling Reuters that for some member states, there is a fiscal reality. “The likelihood of adopting Borrell’s original proposal is declining,” the outlet added, citing a third official, but noted that “many countries” still support the move.

The European Union has authorized military, economic and humanitarian aid totaling €83 billion to Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation in February 2022, according to the European Commission. But despite Western generosity, Kiev’s summer counteroffensive failed to achieve its goals, with the Russian Defense Ministry estimating that Kiev has lost more than 90,000 soldiers, as well as more than 55 tanks and 1,900 armored vehicles, since last June.