On June 10 (Moscow time), TASS news agency quoted Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk as saying that Warsaw opposes the proposal to transfer all or part of the money from the European Peace Fund (EPF) worth 6.6 billion euros (about 7.6 billion USD) to support Ukraine.
Speaking on RMF FM radio, Mr. Tomczyk emphasized that Poland has the right to receive about 500 million euros (equivalent to 576 million USD) from this fund and will not give up that money.
This is our money," he said, while affirming that Warsaw will fight to the end to protect its interests.
Polish officials also accused the European Union (EU) of trying to change previously agreed rules.
According to RMF FM, Poland's stance received support from Slovakia. These two countries are among the first countries to provide weapons aid to Ukraine after the conflict broke out and believe that they need to be fully reimbursed for their expenses.
Diplomatic sources said that Poland and Slovakia oppose adjusting the reimbursement they receive from this fund. Conversely, some countries that participated in military support for Ukraine later, such as Germany, are said to support the new allocation method.
The European Peace Fund (EPF) was established by the EU in 2021 to support defense, security and peacekeeping operations. However, since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, this fund has also been used to reimburse part of the costs for member countries that have provided weapons and military equipment to Kiev.
Previously, on June 8, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Kaja Kallas, confirmed that Hungary had lifted its veto power related to the 6.6 billion euro (7.6 billion USD) fund.
According to Ms. Kallas, this money could be used to reimburse weapons costs that member countries have transferred to Ukraine, finance joint defense procurement programs and maintain the EUMAM Ukraine military training mission.
However, the reaction from Poland shows that the EU still has many disagreements on how to use this fund, especially in the context that member countries have different levels of military support for Kiev.
