EU leaders fail to agree €5 billion military aid package for Ukraine

https://www.semafor.com/article/03/21/2025/europe-fails-to-agree-5-billion-ukraine-aid-package

43 comments

  1. Europe: “We stand with Ukraine!”
    Also Europe: “But not, like.. €5 billion worth.”

    Maybe Zelensky forgot to say “thank you”..

  3. For all the political rhetoric the Europeans as a collective organizational and political body have displayed, their incapability to effectively allocate even 5 billion Euro’s to the Ukrainian War effort is rather pathetic. Their rhetoric does certainly outweigh their practical and technical proficiencies

  4. Crazy thought– Why don’t the countries that DO agree on aide take however it’ll be split up and each individual country sets aside that money not to be sent to the EU entity for donation to Ukraine, but to be sent to Ukraine itself. Ukraine gets the support it needs, the EU countries that want to donate do, and the EU countries that don’t can wear another black eye.

  5. >Italy

    Not a surprise, Meloni is a Trump fan, after all.

    >France

    Now THIS is diabolically irritating. The French love to talk big talk about strategic independence and support for Ukraine and how Europe must be included in the negotiations, but they themselves are never willing to put their money where their mouth is to the degree that is required of a economy/country their caliber.

  6. EU really needs to change their structure and laws, because in moments like this you need to stop the bickering and the debates and act as one, concessively and fast.

  7. >The package faltered after France and Italy “hesitated to commit to specific financial contributions,” Euro News Reported.

    The same France who’s attempting to derail a EU-UK defence pact over fishing rights…

    >An “early understanding” on fisheries “is needed for the facilitation of discussions on the other aspects under consideration”, states the internal document seen by the Guardian.

    Read the fuckin’ room, guys.

  8. European countries could not agree on the color of shit.

  11. At a recent summit in Brussels, European Union leaders failed to reach an agreement on a proposed €5 billion military aid package for Ukraine, intended to fund the procurement of 2 million artillery shells within the year.

    Key Points:

    Divergent Positions: France and Italy were among the nations hesitant to commit to specific financial contributions, citing the need for more detailed technical and financial information before proceeding.

    EU Credibility Concerns: This impasse has raised questions about the EU’s ability to present a united front in supporting Ukraine, especially as the United States, under President Donald Trump, is actively negotiating with Russia.

    Hungary’s Opposition: Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, further complicated matters by refusing to endorse a joint statement supporting Ukraine, isolating Hungary within the EU and highlighting internal divisions.

  12. This is the thing I always have to think about when people start talking about an EU-army. We can’t even decide on simple fucking aid packages, who in their right mind actually thinks we will be able to have a command structure to fight wars, anytime in the next decades?

  13. “EU leaders fail”, the most used healine start nowadays. 

  14. I thought Europe is a powerhouse, a mere trifle 5bn is chump changes.

  15. This is why, people laugh at us in Europe.

    Talk talk talk, we are the coalition of the willing yap yap yap.

    When it comes time to do something this is what happens.

    It pains me so much to imagine Ukraine is basically at the mercy of USA and our incompetent leaders.

  16. This is frustrating. I despise Trump but he has correctly pointed out there are a few EU countries that talk big but don’t pull their weight, and every time these guys hesitate it only strengthens that narrative. Any day now the US could align completely with Russia and we would still be bickering at the negotiating table.

  17. Lol. All those reddit praise for France just a few days or a week ago turned into mush.

    Reality hits you hard bro.

  18. The UK gets crap for wanting to leave this bureaucratic sham of talk the talk but can’t walk the walk (but let’s spend a fortune on everyone’s salaries).

    The EU is not fit for purpose sadly.

  19. Reality Check time: for all the talk about the EU as if it’s like the USA, some kind of federalising collective of states with one direction and common purpose; it isn’t. It’s a mish-mash of different, very separate countries, some with very different interests, economies and attitudes to others. It’s a cumbersome, slow machine that sometimes just stalls and holds itself back (as many pro-Brexit types pointed out).

  20. And this has been the problem since day 1. If we had gone all in Russia would have stopped a long time ago, but they can see our weakness and division.

  21. Lmfao imagine that 🙄

    And France being a holdout, what a joke. All talk.

  22. A firm reminder of why the EU won’t amount to much in this regard. Willing to wag the finger but not take serious action.

  23. The biggest problem of the EU is that every decision has to be made unanimously by every single country.
    That’s why poeple like Orban (Putin lover) can block every single thing if they choose to with their single vote.

    EU itself must be reformed to make actual politics with voted leading partys and opposition partys.
    And most importantly get rid of the need for an unanimous result.

  25. Where was all this “European” solidarity when it came down to coughing up dough and materiel.

  26. Bahaha EU talking a big game a fail to back it up. What a surprise.
    The French are insufferable- what’s the old saying.. the French are the only people to win a war by running away.
    Pathetic.

  27. The EU is 27 countries. It takes time to reach consensus and it’s normal to see a back and forth. It’s slow, but much better than having a dictator-wannabe making spur of the moment decisions.

  29. Shocker. Politicians all talk a big game until it’s time to act.

  31. I know Europe is far more advanced than the US, politically. (Or at least, Europeans online tell me this constantly.) But anybody familiar with US history recognizes the structure of the EU as essentially similar to America’s first attempt at self-governance post-Revolution: The Articles of Confederation.

    This pre-Constitution government is known to history as being too concerned with state’s rights at the expense of the federal Union, creating an ineffective and incompetent “national government.” Everything was voluntary, and everything had to be unanimous, and it led to complete inaction and weakness. The Framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia specifically to fix the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation.

    The EU is too concerned with member state’s rights at the expense of the federal Union. This is workable within the context of NATO and the US security umbrella. But if Europe is going to operate on its own, with its own European military, they need to make sure the whole thing can’t be undone by one guy in Budapest. The EU needs to evolve to take on the role Europeans want it to play.

    Until they do, we’ll see a lot of headlines like this, while Russia picks off Eastern Europe one unprotected, isolated state at a time.

  34. “As long as it takes”, couldn’t blame it on Hungary any more I guess

  35. Ukraine has no choice then to sign with USA. USA will give something and EU nothing.

  36. Ah, yes. The europeans once again show how they’re clowns

  37. Doing it through the EU seems inefficient due to all the extra steps and ways it can be blocked. Why can’t individual countries just send aid on their own? No need for negotiations or bullshit.

  38. What the fuck? We have war in Ukraine, tens of thousands of people dead and suffering unnecessarily, and a cruel dictator that has yet to experience what justice tastes like, and you’re squabbling over five fucking billion euros?

    There’s half a billion people in the European Union, and we pay eye watering amounts of money in taxes, a lot of which end up wasted in stupid shit, like enforcing that websites annoy their users with enough useless cookie consent prompts.

    We’re talking about spending the equivalent of ten euros per person. Three lattes on any Western European café.

    How did we elect these cunts?

  39. And as quickly as a strong and united Europe began to emerge from America’s descent into fascism, it was quickly snuffed out by the realization that it would actually cost money lol

  40. Everyone was hyping up the virtue signaling on Ukraine, yet the EU can’t get its own sh t together.

  42. Don’t worry . They will hold another meeting about why it failed.

  43. As an American who absolutely hates Trump, I was really hoping the eu would step up. I guess this why Trump demands mineral rights in Ukraine in exchange for aid. He knows the eu will falter when it comes down to it.

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