EU foreign ministers fail to agree on €40 bln aid package for Ukraine — Kallas
The EU top diplomat stressed that everyone recognized that the EU needed to "show result" right now and support Ukraine "so that they can defend themselves"
BRUSSELS, March 17. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states have not reached an agreement on a €40 billion aid package for Ukraine but hope to make progress soon, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said at a press conference following the EU Council meeting in Brussels.
"There is broad political support for the defense initiative of €40 billion. Of course, right now the discussion is in the details. [At the] last European Council we had a wording that we need to move swiftly," she stated. Kallas added that everyone recognized that the EU needs to "show result" right now and support Ukraine "so that they can defend themselves."
However, she did not specify when exactly the initiative would be approved.
Earlier, Kallas proposed a €40 billion aid plan for Ukraine, the amount of which would depend on Kiev's needs and would be distributed according to the abilities of each EU member state. Kallas has already recognized that the EU has many obstacles to approve this plan. This project should include the purchase of two million shells for Kiev in 2025 and priority supplies of air defense assets. Kallas hopes to raise about €2 billion of these funds from revenues gained by reinvesting Russia's frozen assets in 2025.