The EU ambassadors agreed to add €5 billion to the European Peace Fund, the funds from which go to arms for Ukraine.
This was reported in the Council of the EU.
The European Peace Fund was created in March 2023 to finance all common foreign and security policy actions related to military and defense issues. In particular, this EU fund is designed to finance the strengthening of the potential of countries that are not part of the EU.
In January of this year, Bloomberg reported that the European External Affairs Service created a document with a proposal to EU states to reform the European Peace Fund.
As part of the financing mechanism of this fund, member states receive compensation for the weapons they transfer to Ukraine.
The European Foreign Policy Office then proposed, in particular, to fix compensation rates for sending weapons and to provide larger bonuses for joint initiatives between European and Ukrainian industry. Compensation for the transfer of weapons from stockpiles and new purchases will be phased out, the proposal document said.
It is also expected that the fund will have two main "European pillars": providing lethal and non-lethal support to Ukraine through joint procurement through European industry, as well as continued training and equipping of Ukrainian forces.
The instrument will complement any bilateral aid to Ukraine from member countries.
The foreign policy department foresees that the fund will serve to meet Ukraineʼs most urgent needs in artillery, ammunition, drones and air defense, as well as in non-lethal elements, in particular in means of demining, military medical support and cyber means.