Germany's Budget Committee has called on Finance Minister Jörg Kukis to approve additional military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 3 billion euros ($3.13 billion). This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
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The issue was supported in the committee by the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democrats (FDP), while representatives of the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, abstained from voting.
Although the budget committee does not have the authority to decide on the allocation of funds on its own, in practice the Ministry of Finance usually implements its recommendations. The CDU and FDP members of the committee emphasized that there are sufficient funds in the federal budget to provide this assistance.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD also supports an increase in military aid to Ukraine. However, he insists that funding can only be provided if the debt brake is temporarily lifted, which would allow the government to increase borrowing.
The Ministry of Finance has not yet provided an official comment on this issue. The proposed 3 billion euros will be in addition to the 8 billion euros that were allocated in Germany's 2024 budget to support Ukraine. At the same time, aid is expected to be reduced to 4 billion euros in 2025, as Berlin hopes that Kyiv will be able to cover a significant part of its military spending with a 50 billion euro loan agreed by the Group of Seven countries.