RIGA – Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs wants Brussels to transfer 7 billion euros to help cover the military and economic costs associated with Russia, as pressure grows over the price of the country’s hard line against Moscow.

The money should come from the next seven-year EU budget under the new Competitiveness Fund to compensate for higher defense spending and the collapse of trade with Russia after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kulbergs said in an interview with POLITICO Brussels Playbook.

The cash that Riga wants to receive in addition to other funds allocated to the country would amount to almost half of Latvia’s projected defense bill of 15.1 billion euros over the seven-year budget period.

https://www.politico.eu/article/latvia-pm-andris-kulbergs-7b-eu-funding-over-russia-costs/