The Foreign Office of the European Union presented to member states a proposal to reform the Ukraine Assistance Fund with an annual budget of about 5 billion euros.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
The document from the European External Action Service talks about the conditions for the creation of a previously proposed fund on which EU governments could not agree. In addition, the EU is moving from providing weapons from existing stocks to purchasing new ones.
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Under the current funding mechanism known as the European Peace Fund, EU countries receive reimbursement for weapons they transfer to Ukraine. The size of the fund has increased several times.
Since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the EU has approved seven packages totaling 3.5 billion euros, as well as 2 billion euros for the supply of ammunition. Disputes continue in countries regarding reimbursement and the use of the fund to compensate for purchases, and Hungary has generally blocked the eighth tranche of funding.
A number of countries, including Germany, say the European Peace Fund in its current form is increasingly less effective because most weapons in the future will come from new purchases rather than from existing stockpiles.
Other countries would like to see the relief fund built into the European Peace Fund, while others want to keep the current mechanism.
The European External Action Service's proposal would reconcile various positions by changing the management of the fund, in particular fixing reimbursement rates and providing a higher bonus for joint initiatives between European and Ukrainian industry.
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Reimbursement for supplies from warehouses and unilateral purchases will be gradually abolished, the draft document says.
The fund will provide for the provision of lethal and non-lethal assistance to Ukraine through joint procurement in European industry, as well as continued training and equipment of Ukrainian troops.
The fund is expected to be used to meet Ukraine's most pressing needs for artillery, ammunition, drones and air defense, as well as mine clearance, military medical equipment and cybersecurity.
