European Peace Facility (EPF)
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What is the European Peace Facility?
In an era of strategic competition and global security threats, the European Peace Facility (EPF) expands the EU’s ability to provide security for its citizens and its partners. Since 2021 the EPF serves as a unified financing mechanism for the EU’s military and defence actions, with Member States contributing to the fund in addition to their contributions to the general EU Budget.
Initially set up with a value of €5.7 billion for a seven-year period, the EU has increased funding for the EPF to €17 billion to enable effective support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression while also providing further support to global partners.
As an off-budget funding mechanism, the EPF is separate from the EU’s multiannual financial framework thus offering more flexibility. Through this the EU ensures that funding is available for both long-term support to partners and effective crisis response in rapidly evolving situations.
The EPF is structured by two pillars:
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The operations pillar covers the common costs of EU military missions and operations, contributing to the EU’s ability to serve as a global security provider.
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The assistance measures pillar supporting partners to enable them to better face threats to local, regional and international security.
The Operations Pillar
Due to Article 41(2) of the Treaty on European Union the costs arising from operations with military or defence implications cannot be covered by the Union’s general budget. Through the European Peace Facility – which is an off-budget fund – the EU can cover the so called ‘common costs’ of military missions and operations under the Common Security and Defence Policy, i.e. the costs that are not borne by the individual Member States participating in those missions and operations.
These common costs include:
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the running costs of mission headquarters
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their transport
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medical services and other facilities
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the costs to improve infrastructure needed to fulfil the mission, such as airports, harbours, roads, storage and sanitation facilities.
To learn more about the ways the EU works for a stable world and a safer Europe, follow the link to the page about CSDP Missions and Operations.
European Union
The Assistance Measures Pillar
The EPF supports partners to strengthen their capabilities in the military and defence areas. Through assistance measures, the EU is able to further improve the capacities of partner countries and regional organisations to address crises, prevent conflicts and look after their own security needs.
In today’s interconnected world, this not only increases security and stability for their population, but also for EU citizens.
Since the establishment of the EPF in 2021, assistance has been provided to a growing number of partners in Africa, the Western Balkans, the Middle East and the Eastern Neighbourhood of the EU as well as to regional international organisations engaged in peace support missions. For more details, please consult the EPF factsheet.
The type of assistance provided depends on the type of support requested by a partner country. Most assistance measures deliver non-lethal military equipment, including:
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personal protective equipment for individual soldiers
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medical equipment and field hospitals
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engineering and demining equipment
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cyber-defence equipment
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as well as vehicles and boats.
In some cases the Council can also decide to provide equipment designed to deliver lethal force through the EPF.
When providing military equipment and support to third states, the European External Action Service carefully monitors partners’ compliance with Council decisions, international human rights law, international humanitarian law and all relevant arms export laws.
The implementation of assistance measures under the EPF is coordinated by the Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI).
European Union
EU Military Support to Ukraine enabled by the EPF
In response to Russia’s war of aggression, the EU has provided unprecedented political, humanitarian, financial and military support to Ukraine. The overall military support to Ukraine by the EU and Member States amounts to €69.3 billion.
The EPF has been an important instrument of sustained EU support for Ukraine’s defence: mobilising €6.1 billion in funding through the EPF for reimbursements for Member States’ deliveries of lethal and non-lethal military equipment as well as for the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine.
The EU mobilised an additional €3.4 billion from windfall profits (interests stemming from frozen Russian assets) channelled through the EPF for the delivery of ammunition, drones and air defence equipment. €1.5 billion out of this amount were dedicated to ramping up the Ukrainian defence industry – one of the main Ukrainian priorities.
Learn more about EU military support to Ukraine here.
EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine
The EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) was established by the Council in October 2022 to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity and to coordinate Member States’ training activities in support of Ukraine.
As part of the mission, 24 EU Member States provide training to members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with more than 86,000 Ukrainian Soldiers trained.
The EPF supports the mission by funding the common costs of the training, including translation services, food and transportation for Ukrainian soldiers training in EU Member States, and also providing funding for lethal and non-lethal equipment supplied to the trained Ukrainian units. Individual equipment for their return to Ukraine is also provided.
EU Ammunition Initiatives
Under the ammunition initiative launched by HR/VP Kallas in 2025, two million rounds of large-calibre ammunition were supplied to Ukraine.
Following the Council decision of 20 March 2023 to implement a three-track proposal put forward by the High Representative and the Commission, the EPF provided up to €2 billion for artillery ammunition and missiles to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This support came from both the existing stocks of Member States (Track One) and the joint procurement of new ammunition (Track Two).
Additionally, the Commission adopted the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) (Track Three) aimed at ramping up the EU’s production capacity for ammunition and missiles.
