The president of the European Council describes the review of the multiannual community budget, which provides 50 billion for the reconstruction of Ukraine, as an “urgent task”, and believes that the EU must “do its part” by supporting Kiev.
“In the short term, we need to resolve the mid-term review of the Multiannual Framework. This is an urgent task that we have on the table, […] but we are working discreetly and I hope that we can, efficiently, build some compromises to achieve a consensus on this important issue,” said Charles Michel, in an interview with the Lusa agency and other European media in Brussels.
Days before an informal European Council held on Friday in Granada by the Spanish presidency of the European Union (EU) and focused on community support for Ukraine and the budgetary issue, the official stressed that the bloc has to “do its part.”
Two days after Ukraine announced that it is analyzing with the White House the situation created by the North American Congress, which, to avoid a government shutdown, approved a temporary financing law that does not include new aid to Kiev.
“I think it is very important that we do our part and our work and that is what we are doing. The review of the Multiannual Financial Framework is the opportunity to clearly show that we support the mechanism for Ukraine. […] This should be a priority. […] make it clear that we support Ukraine in the long term,” said Charles Michel, questioned by Lusa in this interview.
The issue should also be addressed at the European summit in October, but the most intensive discussions should take place in December.
Recalling the four days and four nights negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027 in July 2020, when a recovery plan based on an unprecedented joint debt issuance was approved, Charles Michel compared: “The we did and it was a very important sign […] and perhaps now it is necessary to have more than four days and four nights, perhaps five or six days.”
According to European sources, the most difficult part of the budget negotiations is not support for kyiv, which generates consensus among the 27, but other European priorities and how to finance them.
“In any case, it will be necessary to support – and we will support – the reconstruction of Ukraine, which will be costly not only for the EU, but also for the partners,” Michel concluded.
The statements come a day after the European Parliament approved its position on the reform of the Union’s multiannual budget, revising by 10 billion euros the amendment proposal presented last June by the European Commission.
Since then, the EU is debating the revision of the budget for the period 2024-2027, following a proposal to reserve 50 billion euros to support the recovery of Ukraine, 15 billion for migration management and 10 billion from the STEP platform for the “green”. ‘ and technological investments, in a step towards a future sovereign fund.
A financial reserve is planned for Ukraine for the next four years, with loans and subsidies for the reconstruction of the country after the war, an amount that will be mobilized depending on the situation on the ground.
At stake is a review of the Multiannual Financial Framework, until 2027, which together with the Recovery Fund currently amounts to 2,018 million euros in current prices (1,800 million euros in 2018 prices).
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory has plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II.
Source: TSF
