By Andrew Gray
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A&nbsp;European Union&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to spend up to&nbsp;20&nbsp;billion&nbsp;euros ($21.4&nbsp;billion) on&nbsp;military&nbsp;aid&nbsp;for&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;is meeting&nbsp;resistance&nbsp;from EU countries and may not survive in its current form, diplomats say.
Josep Borrell, the&nbsp;EU's&nbsp;foreign policy chief, proposed in July that the bloc create a fund with up to 5&nbsp;billion&nbsp;euros a year over four years as part of broader Western security commitments to bolster&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;as it fights Russia's invasion.
But as EU defence ministers prepare to discuss the&nbsp;plan&nbsp;in Brussels on Tuesday, diplomats say multiple countries - including EU heavyweight Germany - have voiced reservations about committing such large sums years in advance.
The EU and its members have been among the biggest donors of&nbsp;military&nbsp;aid&nbsp;to&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;since Russia launched its invasion in February&nbsp;2022, providing arms and equipment worth some 25&nbsp;billion&nbsp;euros, according to the bloc's diplomatic service.
Borrell's proposal was an effort to put support on a longer-term footing, by creating a cash pot for&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;aid&nbsp;inside a bigger fund, the&nbsp;European Peace Facility, used to reimburse EU members for&nbsp;military&nbsp;assistance to other countries.
"I'm not going to declare it dead at this point yet. But of course, improvements can always be made," a senior EU diplomat said&nbsp;on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"Germany has had a lot of questions ... and rightfully so. We're talking about a lot of money."
The debate over&nbsp;military&nbsp;aid&nbsp;comes as EU nations are also in discussions over a proposal to give&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;50&nbsp;billion&nbsp;euros in economic assistance.
The EU is also facing challenges over other aspects of its&nbsp;military&nbsp;aid&nbsp;to&nbsp;Ukraine.
Many officials and diplomats say the bloc will struggle to meet a target of supplying Kyiv with 1 million artillery shells and missiles by March next year.
And Hungary has for months been holding up 500 million&nbsp;euros in payouts from the Peace Facility to EU members for&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;aid&nbsp;over&nbsp;Ukraine's blacklisting a Hungarian bank, OTP.
Since the bank was removed from the blacklist, Hungary has been insisting it wants guarantees it will not return there.
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EU governments have stressed that long-term EU&nbsp;military&nbsp;aid&nbsp;must be coordinated with security packages that individual EU countries are negotiating with Kyiv, making it hard to settle on a price tag while those talks are ongoing.
At an EU summit last month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said&nbsp;the focus for now should be on such bilateral packages.
Some EU members have also argued they will struggle to make a big long-term pledge as domestic budgets are squeezed.
"For some member states, there is the reality of the public finances," said&nbsp;a second EU diplomat.
A third EU diplomat said&nbsp;the likelihood of Borrell's original proposal being adopted was declining but many countries still wanted to have a commitment at EU level.
Three diplomats suggested the EU may end up deciding to go year-by-year with its commitments, rather than signing up for a larger amount stretching over four years.
($1 = 0.9359&nbsp;euros)
(Additional reporting by Krisztina Than; editing by David Evans)

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EU's 20 billion euro plan for Ukraine military aid hits resistance