Brussels’ Executive is reportedly working on a plan to dedicate part of its budget to military purposes, something currently banned under EU Treaties. But according to sources close to the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has instructed her lawyers to work on a way to circumvent the rule in order to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia directly from the bloc’s common pockets.
The plan would see the Commission using part of its budget to provide payments for arms manufacturers in order to increase production in aid to Ukraine.
Officials close to the plans told the Financial Times an official proposal for the plans will be presented to the EU27 before a meeting of defence ministers next month.
One official told the paper: “We need a new injection to get the defence industry moving.
“The reality has moved beyond the current systems.”
When asked about the proposal, the Commission said it was “considering options to jointly procure standardised defence products such as ammunitions”.
It comes as Ursula von der Leyen met with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last weekend, agreeing “on the importance of giving Ukraine the military momentum” it needs to win the war.
In a readout of the Prime Minister’s meeting with Ms von der Leyen on the margins of the Munich security conference, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “President of the Commission von der Leyen and Prime Minister Sunak updated one another on their discussions with President Zelensky last week.
“They agreed on the importance of giving Ukraine the military momentum they need to secure victory against tyranny.
“The leaders welcomed the powerful alignment in EU and UK support for Ukraine over the past year, as exemplified both by our record military and economic aid to the country, and the co-ordination of the most substantial and unprecedented sanctions packages in response to Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
“They agreed EU and UK efforts to train Ukrainian troops will make a real difference on the battlefield.
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The Prime Minister told broadcasters in Germany: “We will happily provide assistance to any country that is able to provide Ukraine with fighter jets right now.
“The UK stands ready to support those countries as well.”
Downing Street used a visit by Mr Zelensky to Britain last week to announce that the Ministry of Defence would train Ukrainian pilots on Nato-standard aircraft.
Despite No10 opening the door to potentially sending jets to Kyiv, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said the move could be years away if it happens at all.
Some experts have suggested RAF aircraft are ill-equipped for the warfare being seen in eastern Europe.
And any deal on giving planes used by the British armed forces to the Ukrainians would also be complicated by the fact other countries would need to sign off on the move.
Polish aircraft, more similar to Ukrainian Soviet-era jets, are seen in some quarters as planes that could be ready to be used in combat sooner than British planes.
