France is pushing to prevent Ukraine from using a €90bn (£78bn) European Union loan to purchase American-made weapons, arguing that funds earmarked for defence should be spent exclusively within Europe’s arms industry. The proposal forms part of ongoing negotiations between EU member states and the European Commission over the structure of the loan, which was agreed by EU leaders in December after efforts to use frozen Russian assets for reparations failed.
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President Emmanuel Macron has long maintained that Europe’s military support for Ukraine should strengthen the continent’s own defence manufacturers and reduce reliance on the United States. However, Germany and the Netherlands have warned that such restrictions could delay or limit access to crucial systems required by Kyiv, including US-made Patriot air defence batteries. Both countries argue that European alternatives are either unavailable or cannot be produced quickly enough to meet Ukraine’s urgent needs.
Under the latest version of the proposal, around two-thirds of the €90bn loan would be allocated to weapons purchases, with the remainder used to support Ukraine’s wartime budget. A senior EU official told The Telegraph that the emphasis on military aid reflected assessments that Vladimir Putin was not prepared to end the conflict. Germany and the Netherlands have criticised the conditions attached to buying non-European weapons, with one EU diplomat saying the Commission had “listened too much to Paris”, frustrating several member states.
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The Dutch government has called for €15bn of the loan to be reserved for urgent military equipment sourced from third countries, including systems such as Patriot missiles, F-16 fighter jets and long-range strike capabilities. While acknowledging the strength of Europe’s defence industry, The Hague said Ukraine could not defend itself using European equipment alone. France, meanwhile, continues to argue for a “buy European” approach amid concerns over the continent’s dependence on the US and doubts about Washington’s long-term reliability as a security partner.
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