EU to Press Burnham on Ukraine Aid at November Summit

European Union leaders will ask Prime Minister Andy Burnham to commit more money to Ukraine's defence when he arrives in Brussels for a summit on 20 November.

Brussels says requests to the Group of Seven for extra funding have gone unanswered. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen plans to raise the same issue with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next week. Von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa will make the request to Burnham on 20 November. Ukraine projects a shortfall of 70 billion euros, or 58 billion pounds, in 2027 to cover defence and civilian costs. The commission reports that the EU and its member states currently finance 80% of Ukraine's needs, and von der Leyen said the EU's fair share is two-thirds, leaving the balance to other allies. "We will continue to lead, but we urgently need other partners to step up," she told reporters last week. The EU agreed last year to a 90 billion euro loan intended to cover two-thirds of Ukraine's funding for 2026 and 2027, but Russian strikes have pushed costs higher as the war enters its fifth winter.

The request lands as Chancellor John Healey prepares his first budget for delivery next week amid higher borrowing costs. He said earlier this month he was "working on different ways we can step up support for Ukraine: military, diplomatic and economic". British officials have said the UK has committed 25 billion pounds to Ukraine, including 16 billion pounds in military aid. The Kiel Institute's Ukraine Support Tracker places the UK as Ukraine's fourth largest donor, behind the United States, Germany and France. Measured against national income, the UK contributed 0.86%, compared with 1.1% for France and 1.5% for Germany. Denmark reached 4.2% and Estonia reached 3.8%.

The 20 November summit is also scheduled to close three agreements: a food and animal health deal to cut post-Brexit paperwork, a link between EU and UK emissions trading schemes, and a youth mobility arrangement for people aged 18 to 30 to live, work, travel and study across the Channel. The commission has proposed moving the dispute over university tuition fees to technical talks within six months after the summit. The UK wants EU students charged the international rate, about four times the domestic fee; the EU wants the pre-Brexit arrangement restored. Senior EU sources said the food and animal health deal and the emissions trading link cannot enter force without a youth mobility agreement acceptable to Europe, including on fees. One EU diplomat said: "The leverage is that the UK needs this." A second diplomat noted there is no clear majority among the EU's 27 member states to postpone the fee question. Officials are also seeking additional contributions from Japan and may approach Switzerland, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.