EU members pledge $16 billion in additional support for Ukraine, Costa says
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Several EU members have pledged to provide up to 15 billion euros ($16.3 billion) in additional aid for Ukraine, European Council President Antonio Costa said at a summit on March 6.
EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss plans for boosting Europe's defense capabilities and support for Ukraine amid the seismic foreign policy shifts in the U.S. Ukraine's President Volodmyr Zelensky also took part in the meeting.
The summit concluded without additional EU aid packages for Ukraine as the discussed 20-billion-euro tranche ($22 billion) was dropped from the final declaration. Kyiv needs more support now than ever, as the Trump administration has frozen all military assistance flowing to the country.
As any EU-wide assistance package is under threat of being blocked by Hungary's Moscow-friendly leader, Viktor Orban, top EU officials suggested that further aid should be provided through a "coalition of the willing."
"Immediately, member states can increase their support thanks to the increased fiscal space," Costa said at a press conference in Brussels. During the summit, EU leaders unanimously agreed on a new defense initiative that could mobilize up to 800 billion euros ($867 billion) through loans and loosening fiscal rules for government spending.
"Several member states have already announced their pledges up to 15 billion euros. Today, we have also tasked the Council to work urgently on further initiatives to address Ukraine’s pressing military and defense needs," Costa said, without naming the countries.
"This is a tipping point for Europe. And today, we have shown that the European Union is rising to the challenge," the European Council president said.
