France wants to restrict non-EU weapons purchases for Ukraine, Euronews reports
Photo: Emmanuel Macron, president of France (Getty Images)
The issue concerns the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan approved by EU countries for 2026–2027. Of that amount, €60 billion is earmarked specifically for military assistance, while €30 billion will go toward economic support.
Under the terms of the loan, Ukraine may spend no more than 35% of the value of defense products on purchases from outside the EU and the European Economic Area. However, Kyiv can request exemptions when European alternatives are unavailable or local manufacturers cannot produce the required quantities quickly enough.
So far, the European Commission has approved two such exemptions for Ukraine due to insufficient production capacity within the EU: one for Chinese components for drones and another for US-made interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems.
Position of Paris and divisions within the EU
France wants these exemptions to remain temporary, with funding eventually redirected toward Europe’s defense industry. France has one of Europe’s strongest defense sectors and produces the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense systems, which are considered an alternative to the Patriot.
At the same time, several Northern and Eastern European countries oppose such restrictions. In July, the defense ministers of nine countries — Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius, calling for Ukraine to be given maximum flexibility in its procurement.
"We continue to stress that the swift approval of product schedules is crucial, including through the pragmatic use of the derogation for the purchase of materiel produced by third countries," the officials said in their letter.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Britain and France had agreed to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles domestically.
The Ukrainian president also recently said that Ukraine had received a small batch of Patriot missiles.
