EU to increase European Peace Facility by $3.8 billion
The Council of the European Union announced on June 26 the decision to increase the financial ceiling of the European Peace Facility (EPF) by 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion).
The facility is used to provide military aid to Ukraine and other partners of the EU.
"This decision sends a clear political signal of the EU’s enduring commitment to military support for Ukraine and other partners alike," the EU Council said.
Building on an agreement from March 20, the EU's fund for defense and international security cooperation now amounts to 12 billion euros ($13 billion), the EU Council said in its statement.
"Today's decision will again ensure that we have the funding to continue delivering concrete military support to our partners' armed forces," said Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat.
The EPF was launched in 2021 to finance common foreign and security policy actions related to military and defense. In particular, this tool allows to finance non-EU partners in pursuit of joint peace and security building.
Originally, it was launched with a financial ceiling of 5.5 billion euros ($6 billion) by the currency value at the time, which increased by 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) on March 13, 2023.
As the EU's statement noted, the EPF has supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine through seven support packages so far. According to the EU's statement in April, this amounts to 4.6 billion euros ($5 billion).
In May Borrell proposed an additional 3.8 billion to be added to the EPF for the purpose of military aid for Ukraine.
Dinara Khalilova
