MOSCOW, October 26 A number of EU countries have discovered up to 16 billion euros of unallocated funding for the bloc, the British newspaper Financial Times reports, citing an EU diplomat.
Earlier, a European source reported that the leaders of the bloc at the summit in Brussels on October 26 and 27 will discuss, among other things, adjustments to the multi-year EU budget until 2027 in order to include, among other things, 50 billion euros for macro-financial assistance to Ukraine for the period from 2024 until 2027. According to the source, the EU is determined to agree on this financing for Kyiv by the end of this year.
«Denmark and other countries have discovered up to 16 billion euros of unallocated EU funding that Brussels appears not to have taken into account when it asked for an additional 100 billion euros over the next four years,» the newspaper wrote on Thursday.
The diplomat told the publication that this makes it clear that the European Commission «hasn't done its homework properly» before asking for a lot of extra money, and member states are «not happy» about it.
As the newspaper notes, many EU countries have rejected the commission's requests for 50 billion euros to cover other financing needs, including higher than expected interest payments on the joint EU loan for the coronavirus recovery plan, arguing that national budgets are under intense pressure. Instead, they asked Brussels to find domestic savings or unspent money, which Denmark and other countries have also explored on their own.
The newspaper writes, citing an analysis of budget proposals made by Spain's EU presidency, that the commission warned member states that funding for key EU programs could be cut by 30% if the budget is not replenished with national contributions.
Russia previously sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin emphasized that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov also stated that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy, and other countries.