EU to ask Canada and Britain to increase financial aid to Ukraine - Politico

The European Union plans to approach Canada and the United Kingdom with a request to increase financial support for Ukraine. Brussels hopes to attract additional funds to cover a funding shortfall estimated at around 70 billion euros in 2027.

This was reported by Politico on October 21, citing five EU officials and two European diplomats.

The issue of financial assistance to Kyiv is planned to be raised at the EU-Canada summit, which will take place on October 29-30 in Montreal, as well as during the EU-UK meeting on November 20.

The European Union has already agreed on a loan programme for Ukraine worth 90 billion euros for 2026-2027. At the same time, Brussels expected to receive about 45 billion euros from other international partners, including Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Norway. However, part of the expected contributions has not yet been confirmed or transferred.

According to European officials, the need to attract additional resources is related to Ukraine's growing military and budgetary needs and uncertainty about further support from the United States. The EU also seeks to distribute the financial burden among a wider range of states.

Negotiations on assistance to Ukraine will take place in parallel with discussions on economic and defence cooperation. Canada is expanding cooperation with the EU in the field of defence procurement, particularly through the SAFE programme. The United Kingdom, for its part, is interested in improving access for its companies to the European market.

At the same time, Politico's interlocutors emphasise that Brussels does not plan to directly link trade concessions to the volume of assistance to Ukraine. It is primarily about political negotiations and an attempt to convince allies to increase contributions.

Both countries are already among Ukraine's largest partners. According to official data from the British government, London has committed to support totalling 25 billion pounds sterling, including military assistance, non-military funding and export guarantees. Canada, for its part, announces over 26 billion Canadian dollars in various types of assistance.

So far, specific amounts of new contributions have not been determined. The EU is also discussing the possibility of increasing funding with Japan and other partners supporting Ukraine.

Source: Politico, European Commission, UK Government