21.02.2023 17:57
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell asked the EU defense ministers to provide ammunition to Ukraine from their stockpiles.
Borrell made a corresponding statement at a press conference following the meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“After listening to my colleagues, [the] Foreign Affairs Ministers, yesterday – I sent a letter to all defense ministers which they will be receiving today, asking them to provide ammunitions to Ukraine from their stockpiles and from the contracts they have already [contracted] with the industry, giving Ukraine [the] priority,” Borrell said.
He noted that the EU would have a defense minister meeting at the beginning of March, underscoring that defense remains a competence of the EU Member States, and it is up to the defense ministers to take decisions on arms supplies to Ukraine.
“The key word is to coordinate, speed up, and increase our support [for Ukraine]. It is necessary in order to make the rule of law prevail over the rule of gun, the rule of force. And it is the only way that Ukraine can win this war: to speed up, to increase, and to coordinate better our support. Because the war shows its awful face with bombing hospitals, starving entire cities to death. This is what Russia is doing instead of taking a step towards a ceasefire,” the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy stressed.
Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear power, he noted. Despite this, it has violated the UN Charter by invading a peaceful neighbor.
“In line with UN Charter, Ukraine has a sovereign right to defend itself against this unfounded aggression. The international community, we, have the right to support the aggressed. Ukraine needs all the support we can provide, including weapons and ammunition. They need them more than ever,” Borrell stressed.
He pointed to the historical nature of today’s trilateral meeting. Since the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU and NATO have been standing together not only in condemning Russian aggression but also working together to provide Ukraine with the capacity to defend itself.
“Today we reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its right to self-defense. Our resolve has been strong from the beginning [of Russia’s aggression]. And we will continue doing so,” Borrell said, noting that security assistance to Ukraine must be accelerated.
As reported, on February 21, a first-ever tripartite NATO-EU-Ukraine meeting was held in Brussels.
(C)UKRINFROM 2023
Borrell is a good man.
Much more level-headed than his predecessor.
Time has come for the EU to come up and be counted. This piecemeal stuff needs to stop. I think the US population would be much more supportive if the EU was pulling it’s fair share.
I do think in terms of GDP they aren’t necessarily doing much worse.
But most aid comes in the form of money and less military.
The fact that the Ukrainian state still functions with close to 0 economic activity says something about the very high level of economic support.
I am not happy though with the military support: it should be several times higher than what the U.S. supplies as it is on our fucking continent.
Europe is a bit like a guy who doesn’t care that his own house is on fire, while the U.S. is like a neighbour that lives 4 blocks away and is freaking out and the one calling the fire department.
No Sir. In 2022EU GDP was 24 trillion as compared to 25 trillion for the US. By any measure the EU are laggards especially the krauts.
I meant aid in percentage of GDP.
I don’t think EU countries donate much less to Ukraine in percentage of GDP.
Yes they do. According to the following link
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/?cookieLevel=not-set
Between Jan 2022 to Jan 2023 in Euros
EU 54.9 billion
US 73.2 billion
Other donor countries 15.5 billion
Curious I keep seeing that the US has put in US$ 113 billion. I don’t believe Exchange rate differences wouldn’t account for the difference. Just goes to show figures don’t lie but liars figure.
Nonetheless if my math is right the GDP difference between EU and US is roughly 4% whereas the EU contributions represents 43% compared 57% for the US, excluding the other donor countries as I don’t have comparable GDP data to make a proper comparison.
This differential is partly what is motivating the pro Russian crowd in the US, unfortunately.
The figure includes funds used to support allied so they would support Ukraine. I put the link on a reply to Sir Scradge on another story. I’ll post it here again tomorrow.
I didn’t say that the EU paid more, but I mean the difference isn’t enormous.
Also it is a bit of an apples to bananas comparison as the U.S. makes a pledge for the entire fiscal year while European countries often do this randomly.
I do think the U.S. does a much better job and I think the EU support is abysmal at best, but the difference is not enormous to my opinion (43 vs 57% of total while GDP is comparible.)
Also, then we haven’t included the UK and Norway as they aren’t EU.
Like, my gut feeling said that the EU was much further behind the U.S. but the difference is not that substantial.
Huh? It’s a 20 billion Euros difference supporting an area of the world where the US has limited interest. No sir. It’s not right. If the horde moves beyond Ukraine it’s your ass that gets fried not the US. EU is miserably behind IMHO
This fight is not about American interests in Europe, but about European security, which seems to be understood by Central Europe but not fully seen by Western Europe.The war has again exposed the limits to EU security advances and the continuing asymmetric military dependency on the United States. Unless Putin does something extraordinary in Ukraine, like using a tactical nuclear weapon, EU countries—with the obvious exception of Central and Eastern European member states—will likely continue to skirt around the edges of military support and leave all the heavy lifting to us.