Poland wants full reimbursement of EUR 450 mln for weapons transferred to Ukraine
Germany wants the EUR 6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility (EPF), recently unblocked by Hungary, to be transferred entirely to Ukraine, while Poland demands full reimbursement of approximately EUR 450 million for weapons it previously transferred to Ukraine, a position expressed by Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas proposed distributing the EUR 6.6 billion by providing partial, proportional reimbursement (10%), supporting training missions for Ukrainian military personnel, and facilitating joint weapons procurement for Ukraine. Poland has rejected this plan.
"These funds are our funds," Tomczyk stated on air to RMF FM. "In practice, less of this money means less money for the army," he added. Poland accuses Brussels of "trying to change the rules during the game."
Germany, which contributes the largest share to the EPF in percentage terms, believes the unblocked funds should be transferred to Ukraine rather than returned to national budgets.
Sebastian Hartmann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Defence, urged partners to direct all funds not used in the initial stage toward supporting Ukraine, as the EPF was created as a solidarity mechanism.
"Countries that were the first to provide weapons, such as Poland or Slovakia, and whose contributions have already been calculated and approved for payment, do not want to agree to a reduction in payments, which is what countries that began providing support later, such as Germany, are demanding," the broadcaster reported, citing Polish diplomatic sources.
Scandinavian countries share a position similar to Germany’s. France is also closer to the position of Kallas than Poland, as the volume of French assistance within this fund was relatively small, meaning the expected reimbursement would not be overly significant.
However, France did not agree with the initial idea of the EU diplomatic chief that EU countries should purchase weapons for Ukraine within the framework of the PURL mechanism in the US. Poland is supported by Slovakia, which was the first to state it would demand full reimbursement for weapons transferred to Ukraine. This issue will now be discussed at the technical level and subsequently submitted for consideration by ambassadors.