Any increase would require approval from EU members, who have spent years squabbling over the bloc’s off-budget mechanism for financing military assistance. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spent years blocking efforts to free cash for EPF reimbursements, and in the past France and Germany have raised objections on technical grounds as well.
Kallas framed the cash boost as part of a broader effort to harden Moldova against Russian pressure. “Moldova remains caught in Russia’s hybrid war,” she said, pointing to attacks on energy infrastructure and repeated Russian drone incursions into Moldovan airspace.
A new EU-funded radar system has already arrived in the country, she added, helping Moldova improve detection of Russian drones near its borders.
The EPF proposal would significantly deepen the EU’s defense relationship with Chișinău. In 2024, Moldova became the first non-EU country to sign a security and defense partnership with the bloc.
“Moldova already belongs to the European community,” Kallas said Friday, adding that Brussels will soon host a second EU-Moldova summit, though no date has yet been announced.