Aid to Ukraine from EU: European Commission prepares backup solution for financing
Photo:President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (Getty Images)
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, named the main priority as the consensus among all 27 member countries of the European Union on the decision to create the Ukrainian Fund. However, a contingency plan is being prepared in case of the absence of consensus within the bloc, according to the broadcast of von der Leyen's speech at a press conference in Brussels.
In response to questions about the possibility of adopting a decision in the EU on funding for Ukraine in the amount of tens of billions of euros, which Hungary vetoed at the summit in December, the President of the European Commission suggested an alternative way to resolve the situation.
"An agreement by the 27 EU member states is the first priority. But of course, we have to prepare for other options. There are the operational solutions that we are preparing right now" she said.
Additionally, von der Leyen emphasized the significant step of transferring the last tranche of the EU macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine at the end of December, totaling 18 billion euros.
At the same time, Brussels has a "limited reserve of time... to achieve results" in reaching an agreement among EU leaders on the establishment of the Ukrainian Fund, added the President of the European Commission.
At the start of this Belgian Presidency, let us all be inspired by Jacques Delors' energy and faith in Europe.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 5, 2024
We should always remember his advice to future generations:
« La Grande Europe a son avenir devant elle. N’ayez pas peur, nous y arriverons. » https://t.co/t7NUE678bC
Financial aid to Ukraine from the EU
Earlier, the European Commission proposed allocating 50 billion euros to Ukraine for the years 2024-2027. EU leaders discussed this initiative during the summit on December 14. However, the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, vetoed the decision, although the other 26 member countries of the bloc supported the project.
Now the issue of assistance to Ukraine will be considered at a separate EU summit in early February. One option is bilateral agreements between Ukraine and EU members for the respective amounts.
On December 21, the head of the Hungarian government, Viktor Orban, stated that his position had not changed. In his opinion, any assistance to Ukraine should be provided for a shorter period than the current proposal.
On the same day, December 21, the European Commission transferred the last tranche of 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine from the macro-financial assistance package. In total, Kyiv received 18 billion euros in 2023 in the form of long-term concessional loans.
Earlier, the President of the European Commission, von der Leyen, noted that the EU is preparing an alternative plan to provide Ukraine with assistance of 50 billion euros at the beginning of 2024.
