The Netherlands offers to provide Ukraine with 15 billion euros to buy weapons manufactured outside the EU, while France, on the contrary, wants to introduce a strict "Buy European" clause, Politico reports.
The article notes that the Netherlands and France are discussing the terms of a 90 billion euro loan from the European Union for Ukraine. These funds will be divided between military and budgetary support.
The Netherlands believes that Ukraine should be given greater freedom to use the 90 billion euro loan that the EU promised to Kiev to finance its defense.
According to the publication, a few days before the European Commission officially presented its proposal, the Dutch government proposed to allocate at least 15 billion euros to Ukraine to purchase weapons manufactured in the United States and other countries, but not in the European Union.
It is noted that France, on the contrary, wants to introduce a clause according to which Ukraine will purchase only European weapons. A “Buy European” clause would significantly hinder the flow of funds to countries outside the EU.
The Netherlands emphasizes that such an approach would tie Ukraine’s hands and limit its ability to defend itself against Russian aggression. Furthermore, as Amsterdam noted, European countries do not produce certain types of weapons in sufficient quantities to help Ukraine.
“Ukraine also urgently needs equipment produced by third countries, in particular American air defense systems and interceptors, ammunition and spare parts for F-16s, as well as long-range strike capabilities“, the Dutch letter said.
It added that while Amsterdam supports the introduction of the “Buy European“ clause, it proposes to allocate funds to Ukraine to acquire weapons that Europe does not yet have.
On December 19, a summit of EU leaders approved the provision of 90 billion euros in financial support for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. Kiev will receive an interest-free loan, secured by the EU budget, after leaders failed to agree on the provision of a reparations loan using frozen Russian assets.