EU Working On 4-Year Financing Plan For Ukraine - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) The European Commission is working on a four-year financing plan for Ukraine worth tens of billions of Euros to, among other things, provide Kiev with more visibility and certainty in its finances, possibly extending the 2023 macro-financial assistance of 18 billion euros ($19.2 billion), the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday, citing EU diplomats and officials.

If the financing plan receives the approval of all EU member states, the sum may be used for Ukraine's general budgetary support or high-priority rebuilding needs worth $14 billion this year alone, the report said.

"Ukraine's needs are stark and they need more reassurance. It's going to be a big fight (with the member states) but there's still a lot of desire to help Ukraine," an unnamed EU official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The financial aid would depend on reform commitments and their realization by Kiev, and controls to ensure that the money is well-spent, the report also said.

It added that the package was yet to be finalized by the European Commission, but the EU proposals might be ready by the end of June.

Since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has provided 14.7 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said last week. In January, the European Commission promised to transfer 1.5 billion euros a month to Ukraine starting in March, as part of the 18-billion-euro aid package for 2023.