Media: Berlin wants €6.6bn unlocked by Budapest to go to Ukraine, Poland raises objections
Germany wants €6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility that has been unblocked by the lifting of Hungary's veto to be transferred to Ukraine in full, while Poland intends to fight for every euro.
As reported by RMF FM, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk has said Warsaw wants full reimbursement of about PLN 2 billion (€450 million) for weapons it transferred to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility.
There is €6.6 billion to be distributed, which is now held in a Brussels account after being unblocked by Budapest.
Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has proposed distributing the €6.6 billion by providing a 10% partial, pro rata reimbursement, supporting the training mission for Ukrainian troops, and facilitating joint arms purchases for Ukraine.
Poland has rejected the plan. "This money is our money," Tomczyk said, declaring that Warsaw will fight for every euro.
"In practice, less of this money means less money for the army," he added. Poland has accused Brussels of trying to "change the rules in the middle of the game".
Germany, which has contributed the largest share to the European Peace Facility in percentage terms, believes the unblocked funds should be transferred to Ukraine rather than returned to national budgets.
The German Defence Ministry states on its website: "Hartmann [Sebastian Hartmann, Germany's deputy defence minister, who was in Nicosia during a meeting of EU defence ministers – ed.] clearly called on partners to ensure that all unused initial payments from the fund are still directed towards supporting Ukraine. The European Peace Facility was created as a solidarity mechanism."
"Germany will spend €11.5 billion on Ukraine this year, so the repayment of a few hundred million euros won't change anything," an EU diplomat said.
A Polish diplomat, however, sees it somewhat differently. "Countries that were the first to provide weapons, such as Poland or Slovakia, and whose donations had already been calculated and approved for payment, do not want to agree to reduced payments. The countries that want that are those that began providing support later, such as Germany," the diplomat said.
It was reported earlier that Hungary is lifting its veto on €6.6 billion in funding from the European Peace Facility. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said EU defence ministers had discussed in Cyprus on 8 June how the funds could be used to support Ukraine, including reimbursing member states for past weapons deliveries, financing joint procurement, and supporting EU-Ukraine defence initiatives.
Earlier, Kallas had said discussions on Hungary unblocking the €6.6 billion payment from the European Peace Facility were still ongoing and could not give a specific timeframe for resolving the issue.