THE EU IS drawing up plans for a €20 billion fund to be spent over four years to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, according to officials.

After a Brussels ministerial meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the union would “transform existing support into a long term commitment to Ukraine security and resilience.

“We propose the creation of a dedicated section on the European peace facility to provide up to five billion euros a year for the next four years for the defence needs of Ukraine,” he said.

“It is still the same tool, the European Peace Facility, which has been working very well, and we will continue using it — but with a dedicated chapter inside it.”

Diplomats confirmed the military aid being discussed was five billion euros per year over four years — 2024 to 2027 — but one cautioned that the talks were at the “early stages”.

EU foreign ministers were shown the plan at today’s foreign affairs council but a more detailed debate will take place on 31 August at their meeting in the Spanish city of Toledo.

Some member states, notably Hungary — Moscow’s closest ally in the EU — may oppose the idea, and final political approval is not expected until leaders meet at EU summits in October or even December.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock did not dispute the 20 billion figure when asked.

“For this we need very, very large financial resources, for further support of Ukraine in the military area, in order to be able to implement its right to self-defence,” she said.

“It all has to go hand-in-hand. It’s not enough to just throw numbers around, it has to be logically and meaningfully interlinked and we’re going to talk about that today, but also in the coming months.”

© AFP 2023