Poland opposes the transfer of €6.6 billion to the EU to support Ukraine
Germany is proposing to allocate €6.6 billion from the European Peace Fund to support Ukraine, but Poland opposes this decision and insists on full reimbursement for the weapons already transferred to Kyiv. The dispute between the countries erupted after Hungary unblocked access to the fund’s resources.
Under the European Peace Fund, EU countries have already spent about €43 billion on military aid to Ukraine.
Previously, the EU agreed to reimburse member states for at least 40% of these costs, so the total amount of reimbursements could reach €13.5 billion.
However, only €6.6 billion is currently available in the fund’s accounts, which was unlocked after Hungary lifted its long-standing veto.
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, proposed allocating only 10% of these funds to compensate EU countries, and using the remainder to train Ukrainian military personnel and for joint arms purchases for Ukraine.
Poland categorically disagrees with this approach. Warsaw insists that the fund’s resources should first and foremost be used to reimburse the costs of those states that were the first to begin assisting Ukraine with weapons.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk emphasized:
“This money is our money.”
According to him, Poland has already transferred weapons worth nearly 2 billion zlotys to Ukraine—equivalent to approximately €450 million—and expects to receive full reimbursement.
Polish diplomats consider it unfair to potentially reduce compensation for countries that have been helping Ukraine since the first months of the full-scale war.
“Countries that were the first to provide weapons, such as Poland or Slovakia, and whose contributions have already been calculated and earmarked for payment, do not want to agree to a reduction in payments, while this is what countries that began providing support later, such as Germany, want,” said one Polish diplomat on condition of anonymity.
The release of funds became possible after Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government changed its approach to the Ukrainian issue and lifted a two-year veto on payments from the European Peace Fund.
This decision allowed the process of compensating EU countries for military aid to Ukraine to resume and paved the way for the potential distribution of over €40 billion in reimbursements related to support for Kyiv.
This was reported by RMF24.
The European Commission has presented the draft EU budget for 2027. The document provides for continued financial support for Ukraine, as well as additional funds for European security and defense.
In fact, the European Union is already showing that it does not plan to scale back its support for Ukraine in the coming years. Despite rising costs for its own defense and security, Brussels continues to allocate separate funds for Ukrainian programs and financial aid. This is an important signal for Ukraine, as it concerns not only current support during the war but also long-term funding for the country’s recovery and further integration into the European Union. This was reported by the European Commission’s press service.
Ukraine and NATO agreed on key defense priorities ahead of the next meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defense. During the coordination, the parties focused on strengthening air defense, supplying ammunition, and expanding the production of Ukrainian drones.
Fedorov noted on Telegram that among the key priorities for cooperation are: partner contributions to the PURL program; the supply of PAC-3 missiles through the JUMPSTART mechanism to strengthen anti-ballistic capabilities; long-range munitions under the Czech Initiative; and funding for the production of Ukrainian drones.
The next meeting of the Contact Group in the “Ramstein” format is scheduled for June. In addition, Ukraine plans to hold a closed-door meeting of deputy ministers to discuss the PURL mechanism. This will be the thirty-fifth meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defense in the “Ramstein” format.
