Reuters reported that on March 17, Italy and Spain confirmed that they are not ready to support the European Union (EU)'s proposal to commit to providing military aid of up to 40 billion euros ($43.67 billion) to Ukraine this year, with each country's contribution depending on the size of its economy.
Speaking at a meeting between the EU's top 27 diplomats in Brussels ( Belgian), the Foreign Ministers of Italy and Spain - the third and fourth largest economies of the EU - said it was too early to make a decision on the above proposal. France also expressed some doubts about the plan.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that the proposal should be discussed carefully and considered in the context of upcoming developments as the phone call on the situation in Ukraine between President Trump and President Putin on March 18 has not yet had results. There are many expenses that need to be handled, Mr. Tajani said.
On the Spanish side, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that the results of the discussion will be considered in the future but a decision has not yet been made.
According to Mr. Albares, Spain has pledged 1 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine this year and stressed that Madrid does not need to wait for a proposal from the EU's foreign policy high-ranking representative - Ms. Kaja Kallas to show support for Kiev.
Kaja Kallas' proposal could double the bloc's military assistance to Ukraine. Previously, the EU and member states provided about 20 billion euros in aid in 2024.
EU officials said that maintaining support for Ukraine on the battlefield is urgent, especially in the context of the US President Donald Trump administration not having any sign of continuing to provide aid to Ukraine in the future.
Speaking after the meeting, Kallas said her proposal had received broad political support, and that discussions were even going into details.
According to diplomats, this proposal is strongly supported by Nordic and Eastern European countries, while some southern European countries are more reserved. Reuters said that this reflects the division between countries located near and far Russia in supporting Ukraine in terms of GDP.
According to the World Economic Institute Kiel, Estonia, Denmark and Lithuania are the leading countries, providing Kiev with more than 2% of GDP in the period from January 2022 to December 2024. In contrast, major European economies such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal are among the countries with the least aid, with less than 0.5% of GDP.
