The European Peace Facility, which is used to fund arms for Ukraine, will amount to at least 3.5 billion euros ($3.76 billion) in the coming years, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels. He added that Poland would receive up to 900 million euros in the coming months as compensation for transferring arms to Ukraine.
"Poland's compensation from the facility for transferring arms to Ukraine will amount to some 300 million euros next month and 500-600 million in the following months," Morawiecki told reporters.
The money is come from the European Peace Facility whose budget - according to Morawiecki - is to amout to at least 3.5 billion euros in the coming years.
The European Peace Facility is an off-budget instrument that enhances the EU’s ability to act as a global security provider. It was established in March 2021 to preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security.
Morawiecki: cohesion funds for Poland not in danger
Polish PM also stressed that, in his opinion, there were no problems for Poland with getting EU cohesion funds.
Elisa Ferreira, the EU’s cohesion and reform chief, said Tuesday that Poland has fallen short of meeting all the conditions for payments, some of which had to do with "legal aspects" she didn’t name. The funds weren’t lost, but remain on hold until the conditions are fulfilled.
"We’re waiting for the internal evolution in Poland so that Poland considers that this compliance is already guaranteed," she told reporters. "Until then, unfortunately, we cannot organize and do the normal transfers of funding according to the normal function of the cohesion policy."
Zelenskiy urges Europe to act faster
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday urged Europe to increase and speed up supplies of modern weaponry and impose tougher sanctions on Russia, saying otherwise the war could drag on for years.
In a long and sharply worded video address to EU leaders, delivered from a train, Zelenskiy said it was up to the 27-nation bloc to take action to contain Russia more than a year into its invasion of Ukraine.
Although Ukrainian officials have repeatedly urged partners to step up supplies of weapons, Zelenskiy's comments represented an unusually open display of frustration.
"If Europe waits, the evil may have time to regroup and prepare for years of war. It is in your power to prevent this," he said in an address to EU leaders, who held talks with U.N. chief Antonio Guterres.
It was the EU, he said, that had delayed decisions on providing long-range weapons and modern fighter aircraft and in moving forward with talks on granting Ukraine EU membership.
"Is there truly any rational motivation in delays concerning modern aircraft?"
"Dear colleagues, do you not feel that we have had fewer successes than delays in our joint actions? Unfortunately, that is the case. And the Kremlin sees that," he said.
"We cannot keep delaying the transfer of weapons to our soldiers ... we need modern aircraft. We talked about this. Is there truly any rational motivation in delays concerning modern aircraft?"
Zelenskiy thanked Poland and Slovakia -- now NATO members and formerly part of the Warsaw Pact -- for agreeing to supply Soviet-built MiG aircraft that Ukrainian pilots can fly without additional training.
Western allies have expressed severe reservations about sending up-to-date western fighters to Ukraine.
Zelenskiy also complained that the EU appeared to be in no hurry to impose more sanctions against Russia.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters