France and Italy Stall EU Push to Commit Ammunition for Ukraine

4 comments

1. An effort by European Union leaders to deliver €5 billion ($5.4 billion) to secure ammunition for Ukraine this year was held up by France and Italy, European diplomats said, another sign of the challenges the bloc faces in replacing US support for Kyiv.

   While most of the 27 member states meeting in Brussels on Thursday have rallied around earmarking crucial financing for military assistance, France and Italy are stalling at committing to specific financial volumes, said diplomats, who were granted anonymity to discuss closed-door conversations.

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking to the leaders summit by video link, made an urgent plea for the sum to purchase ammunition “as soon as possible,” making reference to a massive overnight drone strike over Ukraine as the war drags on.

   Discussions in Brussels on Thursday showed that putting forward €5 billion for the purchase of 2 million artillery rounds will be a tall order. The EU’s top foreign policy official, Kaja Kallas, said she still aimed for leaders to sign off on at least part of that plan.

   The divisions underscored the risk that the bloc remains hamstrung in backing Ukraine’s effort to fend off Russian forces after three years of war — even as it’s pledged to stand by Kyiv in the face of Trump’s overtures to the Kremlin for a quick end to the conflict.

   Kallas has put forward a proposal for EU members to deliver as much as €40 billion in military aid this year, stepping up after €20 billion flowed to Kyiv in 2024. Assistance would be voluntary, but participants would be encouraged to make contributions in cash or equipment in proportion to their respective economies.

   France and Italy, the EU’s second- and third-largest economies, have balked at putting outsized numbers on the table, the diplomats said.

   Italy and other nations are asking for more technical and financial details and said the the initiative was still being worked on, Italian diplomats said. The French presidency declined to comment.

   Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo threw his weight behind the initiative — and lamented the headwinds it faced from some EU capitals. Many countries are not “performing adequately” when it comes to arms deliveries to Ukraine, he said.

2. it’s legit. They are right. We need eurobonds, not more debt

3. Funny how France is always the first country to sound tough, express their disapproval, fly their president all over the map for crunch time meetings and lend themselves to spearhead all sorts of possible solutions but when it’s time to actually do something they are nowhere to be found.

4. Europeans are all talk no bite.

Comments are closed.