EU Council Declares 90-Bln-Euro Ukraine Funding Must Prioritize EU, Ukrainian Defense Industries
30 billion euros allocated for macroeconomic support, 60 billion for defense industrial capacity building
Quick Look
- The EU Council has declared that weapons orders under a 90-billion-euro funding package for Ukraine must be placed exclusively with defense industries of the EU, Ukraine, or countries with special agreements with the European Commission.
- Of the total, 30 billion euros will go to macroeconomic support while 60 billion will fund Ukraine's defense industrial capacities, including procurement of defense products.
- Third countries must either conclude a bilateral agreement under the SAFE regulation or demonstrate fulfillment of specific conditions.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
This declaration establishes the conditions for weapons procurement under the 90-billion-euro support package, prioritizing EU defense industries and countries with existing agreements under the SAFE regulation.
BRUSSELS, April 23. /TASS/. Weapons orders under the 90-billion-euro funding package for Kiev must be placed exclusively with the defense industries of the EU, Ukraine, or countries that have concluded special agreements with the European Commission, the EU Council said in a declaration.
"[Of the 90 billion euros,] 30 billion euros [will be allocated] for macroeconomic support to Ukraine," the document noted. "Sixty billion euros [will be allocated] for Ukraine's capacity to invest in defense industrial capacities, including the procurement of defense products," the EU Council said.
"The funding will give Ukraine crucial and timely access to defense products from the defense industries in Ukraine, the EU, EEA-EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway - TASS), as well as other third countries. Those third countries need to have either concluded a bilateral agreement with the union under the SAFE regulation (the EU's financial instrument to help member states invest in defense) or demonstrated fulfilment of specific conditions and commitments," the declaration pointed out.
Open Questions
- Which specific third countries have already concluded SAFE agreements?
- What are the specific conditions third countries must fulfill?
- How will procurement bidding work in practice?
