MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2023) The European Union is preparing to propose "future security commitments" to Ukraine during the upcoming EU summit in Brussels, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing a draft document expected to be adopted at the meeting.
The bloc and its member states express their readiness to "contribute, together with partners, to future security commitments to Ukraine, which will help Ukraine defend itself in the long term, deter acts of aggression and resist destabilisation efforts," the newspaper reported, citing the draft statement.
The declaration developed by France has already met resistance from countries such as Ireland, Malta and Austria, which demanded clarity on what these "commitments" would look like exactly, the report said. Some member states criticized the idea of providing such commitments for being loosely defined.
At the same time, the newspaper reported, citing an EU diplomat, that the bloc was already doing a great deal in terms of security assistance to Ukraine, including active military and financial support.
The overall EU assistance to Ukraine since the start of the hostilities in February 2022 totals over 77 billion Euros ($84 billion), including 21.1 billion euros in security and defense aid.
