EU Fails to Agree on Ukraine Support... Divergent Views on Funding Mobilization

'Rearming Europe' Largely Welcomed
Hungary Rejects Joint Statement

The European Union (EU) reaffirmed its commitment to continued support for Ukraine but failed to reach a concrete agreement on funding.

On the 20th (local time), leaders from various countries attended the European Union (EU) summit held in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by AP Yonhap News

On the 20th (local time), 26 of the 27 EU member states, excluding Hungary, stated in a declaration issued at the summit held in Brussels, Belgium, that they are "working to provide comprehensive support to Ukraine in cooperation with like-minded partner countries and allies."

The declaration reaffirmed that "Ukraine must be in a strong position and building defense capabilities is an essential element." It also urged Russia to "show genuine political will to end the war."

However, the declaration was not adopted unanimously as Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orb?n did not join. Hungary also refused to participate in the joint statement at a special summit two weeks ago.

They also failed to agree on an emergency support plan for Ukraine. Earlier, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, proposed a military aid package of up to 40 billion euros (approximately 63.6 trillion won) this year through voluntary contributions from member states. However, countries like France and Italy, which found the proposal to contribute proportionally to their Gross National Income (GNI) burdensome, reportedly expressed reluctance. Borrell then suggested raising 5 billion euros first to provide urgently needed ammunition to Ukraine, but no agreement was reached.

Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that tensions rose over the appointment of a "European envoy for ending the war." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S?nchez argued that "a representative is needed to speak for the negotiating team and Europeans" and insisted on appointing a European envoy for ending the war. It is reported that during a subsequent closed-door meeting, Borrell expressed displeasure, saying, "Then why am I here?" regarding this issue.

Traditionally, the EU’s regular March summit focuses primarily on economic agendas. However, with the urgent developments in peace negotiations for the Ukraine war and growing concerns that the United States might withdraw from European security, defense and security issues dominated the meeting.

The leaders generally welcomed the "Preparedness 2030" defense white paper, a 2030 rearmament roadmap announced the previous day by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body. The plan includes supporting a 150 billion euro joint weapons procurement loan backed by the EU budget and activating exceptions to fiscal rules to allow member states to increase defense spending by a total of about 650 billion euros over four years without EU sanctions for exceeding debt limits.

However, the white paper did not mention support through the issuance of defense "joint bonds (Eurobonds)," which some member states, led by France, have consistently demanded, leading to criticism that it fell short of expectations.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Sili?a said the Commission’s plan is "just a first step" and that "Latvia is open to discussing ways to secure more funding." Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also said, "We must move in an ambitious direction to enable member states to make significant investments."

On the other hand, the Netherlands and Germany opposed the issuance of joint bonds. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, "(The opposition) is a position we have always made clear."

The EU issued joint bonds during the COVID-19 pandemic to support member states’ economic recovery funds. After intense disputes, an agreement was narrowly reached at that time.