The EU is preparing a four-year plan of financial support for Ukraine
The allocation of funds will be linked to reforms and control over their spending
The European Commission has begun preparing a financing plan for Ukraine for the period up to 2027, with aid amounting to tens of billions of euros.
For this year, the EU has already allocated €18 billion to ensure budgetary and macroeconomic stability. Now, the leaders of the bloc believe that it is necessary to establish stable and predictable financing for Ukraine for a longer term.
Source. This was reported by the Financial Times with reference to diplomats and EU officials.
The authors of the initiative believe that this will give Kyiv more confidence in its financial prospects and encourage it to switch to long-term support from other allies, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
Since the beginning of 2022, the United States has provided €24.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine and the United Kingdom has provided €2.9 billion in economic aid, according to estimates by the Kiel University Institute of World Economics as of the end of February 2023. Various EU institutions have provided €30.3 billion.
The cost of Ukraine's recovery is estimated at $411 billion (383 billion euros) over 10 years, the World Bank reported in late March. But this year, $14 billion is needed for urgent needs related to reconstruction and investment in repair and replacement of damaged infrastructure. The new EU funds can be used for these purposes, the FT writes.
The details of the plan have yet to be worked out, and it will not be easy, the newspaper notes. The allocation of funds will be linked to reforms in Ukraine and control over their spending.
The plan is being considered as part of the EU's long-term budget for the period up to 2027. The European Commission is expected to finance the assistance to Ukraine through the issuance of bonds.
The basic proposals may be formulated before the conference on Ukraine's recovery, which is to take place on June 21-22 in London.
The IMF has already promised long-term financing to Ukraine: in March, it opened a $15.6 billion credit line for a four-year term.
