The European Union has rebuked Germany for unilaterally pledging £6 billion ($7.6 billion) in aid to Ukraine.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, made the promise on Tuesday and said the funds would go towards military and humanitarian aid.

But Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, condemned the move because it will not go through the bloc’s multilateral mechanisms.

“Today we see that Germany is trying to go solo, it hasn’t fooled anyone, and in particular it is trying to stop supporting the European Peace Facility,” he said.

The spat came as Emmanuel Macron announced France would sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine in February and supply Storm Shadow missiles and “several hundred” bombs.

Germany has repeatedly urged other European countries to step up their support for Ukraine in recent weeks.

“The planned weapons deliveries to Ukraine of most EU member states are not enough,” Mr Scholz said on Jan 9.

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