Italy and Spain indicated Monday that they were not prepared to back a European Union proposal to donate as much as €40 billion ($43.67 billion) in defense aid to Ukraine this year. The proposal, offered by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, would entitle each EU member state to contribute in proportion to the size of its economy.
If passed, the proposal would double the EU’s military assistance to Ukraine, which stood at around €20 billion in 2024. EU officials emphasize the need to continue Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion, especially with doubts over future American assistance under President Donald Trump’s government. Trump has resumed diplomatic relations with Russia and is calling for talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump said that he would telephone Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss stopping the war.
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After a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said her plan had found “broad political support,” although negotiations were still under way concerning details. Diplomats pointed out that northern and eastern European countries strongly support the proposal, although some southern EU states are more cautious.
The disparity is consistent in that geographically closer nations to Russia namely Estonia, Denmark, and Lithuania have donated more compared to their GDP, all topping 2% in donations. On the contrary, states such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, and Cyprus have all donated less than 0.5% of their GDP. Hungary, guided by a government sympathetic to Russia, has contributed the least in EU countries.
Although talks are ongoing, obtaining the full backing of all 27 EU members is a problem, particularly as fiscal contributions become an issue of contention between various regions in the bloc.
