EU defense ministers discussed issues related to financing Ukraine at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in the defense ministers' format held in Brussels, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said on Monday.
"Today, many called for the early disbursement of part of the funds from the EUR 90 billion loan package planned for 2027. Ukraine could also receive up to EUR 20 billion from the remaining funds of the Safe Defense Initiative, intended for training personnel," the EU foreign policy chief said at a press conference following the ministerial meeting.
She also recalled that EU countries agreed last week on the allocation of funds for Ukraine from the European Peace Facility.
"EU member states agreed on the allocation of EUR 6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility for Ukraine. This fund has become one of the key instruments for EU assistance," the EU foreign policy chief said.
"Earlier this year, I proposed financing the modernization of two training centers in Ukraine, and I want to thank the Netherlands for the contribution announced today. Thanks to this support, as well as assistance from Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg, we can now move forward with work on these training centers," Kallas added.
She stressed that "Europe needs decisive changes in the scale and pace of investment in defense, the development of military capabilities, the introduction of innovation and the expansion of industrial capacity" to achieve the goals set for 2030.
Kallas said that at the next stage she intends to discuss with member states replenishing the European Peace Facility with additional funds.
