BRUSSELS, July 30. /TASS/. Ukraine’s European allies intend to request loans from the EU amounting to tens of billions of euros for joint arms procurement initiatives for Kiev, Politico reported citing sources.
According to the report, Kiev’s main backers plan to request tens of billions of euros through the EU loan mechanism for joint weapons procurement, as well as to reinforce their own defenses. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier stated that Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cyprus, Lithuania, Spain, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Estonia have already officially expressed interest in obtaining such loans. France is also considering participation, while Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are expected to opt out of the scheme. Politico noted that this mechanism would allow participating nations to purchase weapons at a lower cost than if each country were to procure arms individually and transfer them to Ukraine.
In addition, European countries are exploring the possibility of directly purchasing weapons from Ukrainian manufacturers using funds raised under the initiative. According to an unnamed Ukrainian diplomat, this would increase the scale of military production and the level of technological integration with the EU.
In May of this year, the EU Council of Ministers for European Affairs approved the creation of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), also referred to as the Security Action for Europe (SAFE), with a total value of 150 bln euro. The Council specified that these funds would also be used to provide military assistance to Ukraine. According to European Commission estimates, roughly 20 EU member states may express interest in participating in the program.
The EU militarization fund is part of a broader military development agenda initiated by the European Commission, which extends through 2030 and envisions total funding of up to 800 bln euro. All funds under the program would be raised through loans.