EU to press Burnham on Ukraine funding at 20 November summit

EU leaders will press the British prime minister, Andy Burnham, to contribute more to Ukraine's defence effort in 2027 at a summit in Brussels on 20 November, as Brussels tries to close a €70bn (£58bn) funding gap Kyiv says it faces.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, will make a similar request of the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, at an EU-Canada summit in Toronto next week. In Brussels she will be joined by the European Council president, António Costa.

Who pays what

EU officials argue that the UK, Canada and Japan should do more, saying appeals to these G7 countries for extra financial aid at recent international meetings have gone unanswered. The EU and its member states currently cover 80% of Ukraine's financial needs, according to the commission, which considers a "fair" EU share to be two-thirds, with other allies providing the remaining third.

"We will continue to lead, but we urgently need other partners to step up," von der Leyen told reporters last week, without naming countries.

The EU agreed a €90bn loan for Ukraine last year, intended to cover two-thirds of Kyiv's funding in 2026 and 2027. But as Russia escalates its attacks and the war enters a fifth winter, Ukraine's costs continue to rise. Officials have prioritised non-EU G7 countries – above all the UK, Canada and Japan – and may now look to Switzerland, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The British government says it has committed £25bn to Ukraine, including £16bn in military aid, making the UK Ukraine's fourth largest donor behind the US, Germany and France, according to the Kiel Institute's Ukraine Support Tracker.

Weighted by GDP, the picture changes. Kiel assessed the UK as spending 0.86% of national income on Ukraine, against 1.1% for France and 1.5% for Germany – well below Nordic and Baltic donors such as Denmark (4.2%) and Estonia (3.8%).

The UK chancellor, John Healey, prepares his first budget next week, weighing calls for more spending against rising government borrowing costs and a darkening economic outlook. He said earlier this month he was "working on different ways we can step up support for Ukraine – military, diplomatic and economic".

Summit agenda

Ukraine is one of several items on the EU-UK summit agenda. Leaders are expected to conclude three agreements: a food and animal health (SPS) deal to cut Brexit paperwork; the linking of the EU and UK emissions trading schemes to shield British industry from European carbon taxes; and a youth mobility scheme allowing 18- to 30-year-olds to live, work, travel and study across both sides of the Channel.

The commission has proposed deferring the question of university tuition fees, one of the last big sticking points. The UK wants to charge EU students the international rate, about four times the domestic fee, while the EU wants the pre-Brexit arrangement under which EU students paid home rates. Officials suggest resolving the issue in technical talks within six months of the summit.

Senior EU sources say they retain leverage, because the SPS and ETS deals will not come into force until a youth mobility agreement acceptable to the European side, including on fees, is in place. "The three elements are a sort of gift to the UK, but not a massive gift," one EU diplomat said. A second diplomat said there was no consensus among the 27 member states on postponing the fees question.

The UK government has been contacted for comment. The European Commission declined to comment on specific countries, but referred to a recent statement: "We always said that we cannot walk this alone ... therefore our partners in general must step up."

Source: The Guardian.