EU budget can't cover US weapons for Ukraine - EU Commissioner
Photo: European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius (Getty Images)
The European Union cannot use its budget to purchase American weapons for Ukraine due to restrictions within the bloc's internal agreements, Bloomberg reports, citing EU Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius.
According to Kubilius, the EU's foundational treaties do not allow direct allocation of EU budget funds for buying American weapons for Ukraine. Therefore, member countries will have to use money from their national budgets, including funds received from the European Union.
"But capitals can be prompted to use a bloc-wide €150 billion loan fund for joint procurement, potentially freeing up national funds for off-the-shelf purchases from the US," Kubilius noted.
The EU Commissioner also explained that the funds allocated for military needs from the EU budget until 2034 "would be on the order of 40 times less than national defense spending over the next budget period." Most of the increase in EU countries' defense spending is expected to come from new military loans.
Europe to buy US weapons for Ukraine
Recently, the US and NATO signed an agreement providing for the delivery of American weapons to Ukraine at the expense of European countries.
Under the deal, Ukraine will receive $10 billion worth of American weapons, which European countries will purchase from the US.
Several countries, including Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, have already agreed to contribute.
Meanwhile, Hungary, Czechia, Italy, and France will not join the initiative.
According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, under the agreement, Ukraine may receive a huge number of air defense systems, missiles, and ammunition.
Media reports say that the US will not supply weapons directly to Ukraine. Instead, NATO countries will supply from their own stocks and then replenish their arsenals.
