According to the statement made by the European Council, it was decided to increase the ceiling of the fund to 7.97 billion euros until 2027 in order to meet additional needs.
EU High Representative for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Josep Borrell stated that the fund has become part of “the EU’s support for global peace and security”.
“Ensuring the financial sustainability of this tool is vital to our support not only to Ukraine but to our partners in other parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East as needs arise,” Borrell said.
Member countries contribute to the Fund on the basis of their gross national income. The fund has been used in 6 packages of weapon aid to Ukraine so far. 86% of the fund has been committed in 2022. For this reason, the EU administration wanted to increase the fund, which was close to depletion.
EU countries agreed at the end of last year to increase the fund by 2 billion euros in 2023 and by 5.5 billion euros by 2027. The EU provides military aid to Ukraine using a financial instrument called the European Peace Fund, which is excluded from its own budget. The size of the fund in the period 2021-2027 was 5 billion.
The fund was also used to support African countries such as Mozambique, Niger and Mali, as well as Georgia, Moldova and Western Balkan countries, for support such as military material aid other than weapons.