The key facts
- The EU is asking Canada and Britain to increase funding for Ukraine to close a €70 billion budget shortfall
- Partners outside the EU were expected to provide €45 billion, but the funds are arriving slowly
- Talks are planned at summits in late October and in November
Brussels Seeks Funds from Allies Outside the EU
The European Union is trying to persuade Canada and the United Kingdom to increase support for Ukraine in order to reduce the country's budget shortfall of €70 billion. Politico reports this, citing five EU officials. According to them, amid Kyiv's growing financial needs and uncertainty over support from the United States, Brussels is increasingly turning with funding requests to allies that are not part of the European Union.
Expectations from Partners Are Not Being Met
According to Politico, Brussels expected other partners — Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Norway — to provide an additional €45 billion, but most of these funds are arriving slowly, as the governments of these countries have not yet decided on the amount of support the European Union had counted on.
Talks at Upcoming Summits
At summits in late October and in November, Brussels is preparing to hold talks with the United Kingdom and Canada on funding Ukraine. EU officials noted that no formal agreement is expected, but support for Kyiv from partners could influence the 'political climate' around the talks on Ukraine.
The Position of European Officials
European Commissioner for Economy and Financial Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis called for a 'broad sharing of the burden' and stressed the importance of every partner of Ukraine 'contributing its share' to funding the country. A European Commission representative noted that the issue of funding Ukraine has already become a central topic of discussion at every meeting with partners supporting Kyiv.
Kyiv's Request and Europe's Reaction
On October 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested additional funding of €70 billion from Europe. The newspaper La Repubblica wrote that this request shocked Europe. European Council President António Costa stressed that EU leaders asked the European Commission to develop a proposal for issuing a new loan to Ukraine.
