EUR 1bn earmarked for Ukraine as EU raises ‘peace facility’ funding limit

The Council of the European Union will send another EUR 1bn in support for ammunition and missiles for Ukraine as it increases the financial ceiling of its European Peace Facility (EPF) to EUR 7.98bn, it announced Friday, 5 May.

The assistance under the EPF will further contribute to strengthening the capabilities and resilience of Ukraine, the Council wrote.

“The assistance measure will finance the provision to the Ukrainian Armed Forces of 155-mm-calibre artillery rounds and, if requested, missiles which will be jointly procured by EU member states from the European defence industry,” the Council said in a statement.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “Today’s decision is another major step to deliver more ammunition to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces need substantial amounts of ammunition to defend the Ukrainian people and territory. Together with the previous decision to swiftly provide ammunition from existing stocks, we are committing EUR 2bn to this purpose, bringing the total EU military support to Ukraine to EUR 5.6bn,” he added.

Moldova, Georgia to receive EPF cash

The following day the Council of the EU announced that Moldova will receive EUR 40mn over a 36-month period to finance non-lethal equipment, supplies, and services, including technical training. This equipment includes air surveillance, mobility and transportation, logistics, command and control, and cyber-defence equipment.

The Georgian Defence Forces will receive EUR 30mn over 36 months to fund non-lethal equipment, supplies, and services for its units, including engineering, command and control, medical, logistics, and cyber-defence equipment.

The Council said the EPF “has now become an integral part of the EU’s support to promote peace and security globally, adding that the decision “brings the financial ceiling of the European Peace Facility to over EUR 7.9bn.

“Ensuring the financial sustainability of this instrument is crucial for our support not only to Ukraine, but also for our partners in other parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as needs continue to arise,” it added.

EPF offers EU room for manouevre

Established in March 2021, EPF is an off-budget instrument to finance all common foreign and security policy actions relating to military and defence matters, with the aim of preventing conflict, preserving peace, and strengthening international security and stability.

It originally had an overall financial ceiling of EUR 5bn in 2018 prices for the period 2021-27, with annual ceilings that ranged from EUR 420mn in 2021 to EUR 1.13bn in 2027.

Via the EPF, the EU has supported the Ukrainian Armed Forces through seven successive support packages so far, as well as countries including Georgia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and multinational units such as the Balkan Medical Task Force.

EC High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said “this decision implements the political agreement reached on 12 December 2022, when the Council decided to increase the overall EPF financial ceiling by EUR 2bn in 2023, and allow for the possibility of a further increase at a later stage – up to EUR 5.5bn until 2027.”