Italy and Spain have made it clear that they are not ready to support the European Union’s proposal to allocate around EUR 40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year, with each country contributing according to the size of its economy, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Following a meeting on Monday of foreign ministers from the 27 EU member states in Brussels, Kallas said her proposal had “broad political support” and discussions were now moving to the details.
Diplomats said the proposal has some support from northern and eastern European countries. But some southern European capitals were more reticent, reflecting a division between those geographically closer to Russia, which have given more aid to Ukraine, and those farther away, which have given less, as a percentage of their economies.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy think tank, Estonia, Denmark and Lithuania lead Europe in this area, allocating more than 2 percent of their GDP to aid Kiev between January 2022 and December 2024. At the same time, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus are among those who have allocated the least, committing less than 0.5% of their GDP.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, ministers from Italy and Spain – the EU’s third and fourth largest economies – said it was too early to take a final position on the proposal.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the proposal would need to be discussed in detail in light of upcoming events. “We are waiting for a phone call between Trump and Putin to see if there will be any steps forward to achieve a ceasefire,” he said, adding that Italy must also find money to increase its own defense spending. “There are many expenses that need to be addressed,” he added.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: “We will see how the debate goes, but there is no decision on this issue yet.”
Albares said Spain had already pledged 1 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine this year. He said Madrid did not have to “wait for the High Representative (Callas – IF-U) to make any proposal” to show that Kiev could count on his support.
