Europe can replace US aid to Ukraine by increasing its contributions by just 0.2% of GDP.

To achieve this would only require EU countries to increase their contributions by 0.21% of their combined annual GDP – from €44B to €82B, said Christoph Trebesch, an expert at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. This increase in financial participation would not impose an excessive financial burden on EU countries.

“We are not talking about huge amounts. In the context of the overall budget, this is more of a side item than a significant effort,” Trebesch noted.

He emphasized that EU institutions and the region’s five leading economies – Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain – could play a key role in implementing such a step.

Trebesch drew attention to the existing imbalance in contributions supporting Ukraine: Denmark has allocated nearly 2.5% of its GDP, while the UK has sent only 0.5%, and Germany 0.1%. The US remains the top supplier of modern weapons – in particular, HIMARS systems and Patriot missiles – which are challenging to replace.

According to the expert, Europe should work more actively to foster cooperation between its military-industrial complex and Ukraine’s arms manufacturers.