EU plans extraordinary summit on defence, Ukraine on March 6

Source: Reuters

BRUSSELS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - European Union leaders will meet for an extraordinary summit on March 6 to discuss additional support for Ukraine, European security guarantees and how to pay for European defence needs, EU officials said on Sunday.

"We are living a defining moment for Ukraine and European security. In my consultations with European leaders, I’ve heard a shared commitment to meet those challenges at EU level: strengthening European Defence and contributing decisively to peace on our continent and long-term security of Ukraine," the chairman of EU summits, Antonio Costa, said on X.

…Officials have been discussing the possible use for defence of about 90 billion euros of loans and some grants from the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund that are unlikely to be spent before a 2026 deadline.

Also under discussion is the use of EU cohesion funds - money from the EU's long-term budget earmarked for equalising living standards across the bloc - for projects that could help the military. Finally, the Brussels could declare all defence investment exempt from EU limits on government spending, which would avoid penalising governments for embarking on large defence projects.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-leaders-meet-extraordinary-summit-ukraine-eu-defence-march-6-2025-02-23/