EU develops long-term security guarantees for Ukraine

This is reported by Yahoo! Finance.

Thus, the EU proposes to transform the Peace Facility, which is currently used to finance weapons for Kyiv, into a Defense Fund to provide Ukraine with long-term weapons.

“We talk about security commitments. From my side, it means military support for Ukraine has to have a long haul... during the war and after the war. So the European Peace Facility for Ukraine maybe has to become a Ukraine Defence Fund - the training has to continue, the modernization of the army has to continue,” EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said. 

This was previously reported by the Financial Times.

The promise of security guarantees is included in the draft outcome of the EU leaders' summit on June 29-30. Its discussion comes amid Ukraine's progress in the counteroffensive and the aftermath of the failed coup organized by Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia. These two developments are prompting EU member states to reconsider the level of support Ukraine needs.

In particular, France and Germany, along with the United Kingdom and the United States, are leading efforts to negotiate bilateral security agreements. This is necessary in order to provide Ukraine with long-term funding, military supplies, training, and intelligence to help repel a full-scale Russian invasion, as well as to protect the country from future Russian aggression.

Thus, the proposed guarantees are intended to provide a temporary measure that will reassure Ukraine and give it confidence in the West's continued support. Nevertheless, the promises do not represent the kind of mutual defense that NATO membership would bring. In particular, according to an anonymous official involved in the discussions, the EU's proposed declaration, drafted by France, aims to send a very clear political signal to Ukraine and Russia.

Another anonymous source claims that these pledges are also seen as a guarantee that the EU will be interested in the broader security system being developed to protect Ukraine and will not be sidelined by the US-led NATO. However, neutral EU countries such as Malta, Ireland, and Austria, according to officials, are currently resisting this because they want clarity on what such commitments entail. Some officials also noted that the bloc is already doing quite a bit in terms of security commitments to Ukraine, including financial support to Kyiv and EU initiatives to source, produce, and supply more ammunition.

What the draft EU leaders' statement is about

The Financial Times has reviewed the draft statement of EU leaders on security guarantees. It says that the bloc and its member states stand ready to contribute, together with partners, to Ukraine's future security commitments, helping Ukraine to defend itself in the long term, deter acts of aggression and resist attempts at destabilization.

The draft statement also says that the EU's work will be to quickly consider the modality of such a contribution. This will take into account the security and defense policies of a number of EU member states, including neutral countries. The text of the draft is subject to change before it is adopted.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that each individual ally should decide what it can do about security commitments.

“But what is important is that we say that there is a generally accepted way. We are working on the wording of the project. We don't want empty words,” she said.

• On June 13, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron called for security guarantees for Ukraine.