Elevation of disputes in the European Union over how to continue arms aid to Ukraine

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, newspaper ” “The European Union wants to send more weapons to Ukraine,” Tagus Saitong wrote in an article. But there is a difference of opinion on how to advance these supports and Germany has put its foot on the brakes in this regard.

More money and more weapons for Ukraine: The European Union will organize a special meeting on these issues on February 1. Diplomats in Brussels say the meeting is about dissuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from his veto threat and arranging a major aid package for Ukraine. But as the date of the summit draws closer, Germany is getting more attention – because the federal government has also put its foot on the brakes. The foreigner was shown in Brussels on Monday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wants to increase the so-called European Peace Facility (EPF), through which the EU finances its weapons. But Berlin has blocked this decision for weeks.

Now this dispute will be brought to a special summit of European leaders in the next ten days, because the fronts have hardened. The German federal government is trying to ensure that bilateral aid is also considered. Berlin wants to send arms worth 8 billion to Ukraine this year and demands that this national aid be counted in the EPF.

According to the documents available The German federal government is putting a lot of pressure on this issue. Ahead of the EU summit in December, Berlin blocked a decision on the new Ukraine Aid Fund (UAF). Berlin stated that it could not “agree to any UAF” that does not consider bilateral aid “100 percent as an equivalent replacement for contributions to the EPF”.

After the start of the new year Schultz became aggressive in this regard. The German official made this criticism at the beginning of January and said: “The majority of planned arms deliveries by EU member states to Ukraine are very small.” Everyone should do more and follow the good example of Germany, which says that it supplies the most weapons. . Thierry Breton, the French EU commissioner in charge of defense, criticized: Germany wants to do it alone. The smaller EU countries, in particular, accused Schultz of not actually wanting to expand joint aid to Ukraine, but even reducing it.

Behr Now, when comparing arms deliveries by countries, bilateral aid should be considered in the future, because Berlin wants it. The focus should be on joint weapons projects – a wish that Paris has voiced for years. In addition, the national aid refund rules should be tightened.

The question is whether the German federal government will agree to this? According to EU circles in Brussels, discussions on this are completely open. According to one diplomat, there is at least agreement on this goal: the rapid and efficient delivery of more weapons to Ukraine.

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