Has the EU provided the same amount of financial aid to Ukraine as the US? That’s what Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union claims. But is it true?
ADVERTISEMENTSpeaking to the French radio station France Inter, EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said that European institutions and EU countries have participated in the Ukrainian war effort as much as the United States.
"The total contribution to Ukraine since the start of this war is about €72 billion. Europe has given roughly the same as the US," he explains.
The radio host interjects claiming that "Americans give more than us [Europeans]," to which Breton insists that both amounts of contributions are roughly equal.
To check if that’s true, Euronews turned to the Kiel Institute, a German economic think-tank.
Since the start of the war, their team of analysts has been tracking all the contributions sent to Ukraine through a tool called the Ukraine Support Tracker.
According to their research, between February 2022 and May 2023, the US pledged nearly €71 billion of total aid to Ukraine.
EU countries and institutions have committed to €68 billion in total -- nearly the same as Washington.
EU gives more in humanitarian and financial aid
But when it comes to humanitarian aid, the EU actually gives twice as much as the US - €7.6 billion compared to €3.6 billion.
On the other hand, the US has provided far more military aid – €43 billion, while the EU has pledged €28 billion euros to Ukraine.
In terms of financial aid such as loans and subsidies, the EU has provided Ukraine with €33 billion euros.
The US, however, has given less - €24 billion euros in financial aid to Kyiv.
Baltic countries give more in terms of GDP
Some European governments are making larger financial contributions to Ukraine relative to the size of their own economies.
Topping that list are Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Tallinn contributes 1.5% of its GDP towards helping Kyiv.
Riga and Vilnius follow closely by donating 1.3% and 1.2% of their GDP.
But the Kiel Institute data set only accounts for contributions up until the end of May 2023. The next available update will be published in September 2023.
Since then, the US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth up to $500 million - or about €449 million.
The US has also confirmed it will provide cluster munitions, a controversial move because these weapons are banned by most countries.
Cluster bombs are seen as a major risk for civilian populations as they can detonate when disturbed years later.