Tensions grow in the European Union over some countries’ military aid to Ukraine. Estonia is allegedly sending old weapons to Ukraine but is being reimbursed by the European Peace Facility (EPF) as if for new ones, Politico reported on Tuesday.
Politico spoke to seven EU diplomats and officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information. They said that Estonia has been renewing its arsenal at the expense of its EU neighbours while sending old stocks to Ukraine.
The EU countries are being reimbursed for their aid to Ukraine from the joint EPF fund to which member states contribute based on the size of their economies.
Officially, all countries receive the same rate of reimbursement – 84 percent of the price paid. However, there is no agreement on how the countries calculated the cost of the equipment they send to Ukraine, each “using their own methodology”, according to Politico’s sources.
Classified data from the EU’s foreign affairs and defence department (EEAS) has shown that six countries have calculated their reimbursement claims based on the purchasing price of new materials, rather than the actual current value of what they sent to Ukraine.
The six countries are said to be Finland (claiming 100 percent of the new purchasing price), Latvia (claiming 99 percent), Lithuania (93 percent), Estonia (91 percent), France (71 percent), and Sweden (26 percent).
In absolute terms, Estonia topped the list, claiming more than 160 million euros for its donations to Ukraine for which it was reimbursed 134 million euros.
Diplomats say that Estonia’s behaviour has raised eyebrows inside the EU. According to them, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has publicly called on the EU to provide more military support to Ukraine but seems to have found a way to support her own military.
“For example, they have sent Strelas [old Soviet shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles] to Ukraine, but claimed reimbursement for modern Stingers, which of course have more capabilities and command a much higher price,” one diplomat told Politico.
“This is also why Estonia’s military support appears to be so much higher per capita than that of other countries in the statistics everybody cites,” the source added.
Representatives of the Estonian Permanent Representation to the EU and the Estonian Defence ministry did not respond to Politico’s request for comment.
However, the Estonian government has previously confirmed that it calculates its aid to Ukraine based on the “recovery value” and said in a statement in January that it was “applying for funds from the European Peace Facility for the replacement of equipment”.
Representatives of Finland and Lithuania also declined to comment.
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