>Europe’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had high **hopes of being able to mobilize as much as €40 billion of military aid** to shore up Ukraine’s position…
>The original formulation of the “Kallas plan” had been to ship Ukraine at least 1.5 million rounds of artillery ammunition in 2025. That idea, presented last month, was shot down by a Hungarian veto. Then she tried again, banking on a coalition of willing states to dig into their weapons stores and national coffers to deliver up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year.
>Southern nations — much further from the Russian threat — are less eager than those in the east or the north. But in the end, even France, the bloc’s biggest military power, balked at giving a thumbs-up to the aid package.
>On Wednesday she wrote to foreign and defense ministers proposing a far more modest plan, calling “as the first step” for the provision of 2 million rounds of large-caliber artillery ammunition to Ukraine.
>“**The realistic plan would be the €5 billion for the ammunition and that’s what we’re working on right now**
>**But despite being significantly downsized from her original ambition, even this effort has so far failed to garner sufficient support**.
>Kallas’ attempt to salvage her plan by reducing its scope came after ambassadors from France, Italy and Slovakia delivered a blow on Wednesday, stressing that the plan should only call on countries to contribute on a “voluntary basis,” thereby reducing pressure to participate
>Kallas’ failure to push through her plan underlines the difficulty of corralling all 27 countries in a common direction.
>The blow to Kallas’ authority is evident. “If you say everywhere, as she does and she’s right, that we need to maintain unity, then you also have to prepare such important initiatives in a unity manner,” a senior EU diplomat complained.
>In what’s becoming something of a habit, 26 countries minus Hungary approved a joint statement reaffirming “continued and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” as well as promising to “continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support.”
!ping Europe&Foreign-policy
I know a lot of people are high on hopes of EU now stepping up after being shocked by recent developments in the US, but political reality is proving to be different.
ShadySchizo on
Not surprised, tbh. The “plan” was rightly criticized for being pretty vague.
>banking on a coalition of willing states to dig into their weapons stores and national coffers to deliver up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year
There really aren’t any more old stockpiles we can easily dig into. The domestic production is ramping up, but it’s still not ready to meet the demand. And there aren’t any more foreign sellers we can buy from. So, what exactly are we supposed to do? Where is that €40 billion going to go?
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>Europe’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had high **hopes of being able to mobilize as much as €40 billion of military aid** to shore up Ukraine’s position…
>The original formulation of the “Kallas plan” had been to ship Ukraine at least 1.5 million rounds of artillery ammunition in 2025. That idea, presented last month, was shot down by a Hungarian veto. Then she tried again, banking on a coalition of willing states to dig into their weapons stores and national coffers to deliver up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year.
>Southern nations — much further from the Russian threat — are less eager than those in the east or the north. But in the end, even France, the bloc’s biggest military power, balked at giving a thumbs-up to the aid package.
>On Wednesday she wrote to foreign and defense ministers proposing a far more modest plan, calling “as the first step” for the provision of 2 million rounds of large-caliber artillery ammunition to Ukraine.
>“**The realistic plan would be the €5 billion for the ammunition and that’s what we’re working on right now**
>**But despite being significantly downsized from her original ambition, even this effort has so far failed to garner sufficient support**.
>Kallas’ attempt to salvage her plan by reducing its scope came after ambassadors from France, Italy and Slovakia delivered a blow on Wednesday, stressing that the plan should only call on countries to contribute on a “voluntary basis,” thereby reducing pressure to participate
>Kallas’ failure to push through her plan underlines the difficulty of corralling all 27 countries in a common direction.
>The blow to Kallas’ authority is evident. “If you say everywhere, as she does and she’s right, that we need to maintain unity, then you also have to prepare such important initiatives in a unity manner,” a senior EU diplomat complained.
>In what’s becoming something of a habit, 26 countries minus Hungary approved a joint statement reaffirming “continued and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” as well as promising to “continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support.”
!ping Europe&Foreign-policy
I know a lot of people are high on hopes of EU now stepping up after being shocked by recent developments in the US, but political reality is proving to be different.
Not surprised, tbh. The “plan” was rightly criticized for being pretty vague.
>banking on a coalition of willing states to dig into their weapons stores and national coffers to deliver up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year
There really aren’t any more old stockpiles we can easily dig into. The domestic production is ramping up, but it’s still not ready to meet the demand. And there aren’t any more foreign sellers we can buy from. So, what exactly are we supposed to do? Where is that €40 billion going to go?