The European Union has the funds to fill the gap that arose in the absence of military aid to Ukraine from the United States, but the political will to do so is not yet visible in the EU countries, CNN journalist Luke McGee writes.
Asked whether they can fill the void left by the United States in Ukraine, EU leaders tried to answer this week at a two-day summit in Brussels. The bloc agreed to explore new ways of raising funds for Ukraine, in particular by raising loans on financial markets and using profits from frozen Russian assets. Thus, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that there is "openness, at least from our side" to new ways of financing, and added significantly that Europe cannot "wait for the USA to make a decision."
However, at the summit, the leaders of the EU countries refrained from agreeing on any new funds for armaments for Kyiv, despite Volodymyr Zelenskyi's repeated assurances that this is the most pressing problem for the Armed Forces.
McGee emphasizes that of the $85 billion transferred by the European Union to Ukraine, only $5.6 billion was specifically allocated for military aid. The journalist cites the established understanding of the role of the EU during the conflict as the reason for this, which was to provide financial aid and accept refugees, while the USA dealt with the issue of providing weapons.
McGee urges not to forget that the EU consists of 27 sovereign states that conduct independent foreign policies. Some are NATO members, some are not and are officially neutral. Some are satisfied with the purchase of American weapons and sending them to Ukraine, others are not. Some of them are geographically close to Russia and fear that hostilities will spill over to their borders, others are protected by kilometers of land between them and Russia and have maintained good economic relations with the country for decades.
