The President of the European Commission announced this Sunday to the President of Ukraine the proposal to support her country with loans of 1.5 billion euros per month, up to a total of 18 billion euros, by 2023.
In a statement, the European Commission (EC) said the telephone conversation between the two leaders, Ursula von der Leyen and Volodymir Zelensky, focused on how to “guarantee financial aid to Ukraine in the coming months” because of the importance, recognized by both of “ensuring predictable funding and regulating essential state functions.
“President von der Leyen informed President Zelensky that she would propose this week a major financial package from the EU, up to €1.5 billion per month, for a total of €18 billion, which would contribute significantly to meeting financing needs of Ukraine for 2023,” the EC underlined.
He added that the money will go to Kiev in the form of long-term loans on very favorable terms and which will cover interest costs, and that the intention is also to “support Ukraine’s reforms and its path to EU membership”. .
The leaders of the 27 spoke at their last meeting, two weeks ago, about the possibility of providing this monthly amount to Ukraine, informing them that it needs about “three billion to four billion euros a month” to “provide sufficient funds.” have for the basics.”
“The EU’s financial package will need to be accompanied by similar support from other major donors,” stressed the Community executive, which also confirmed “work in progress” to continue providing immediate humanitarian aid, especially during the winter, and that ” the EU stands ready to support Ukraine in the long term”.
In addition, the EU expects to continue disbursing the 9 billion macro-financial assistance promised to Kiev this year.
Since the beginning of the year, the country has received a total of 19 billion euros in aid at the European level.
In the phone call, Von der Leyen and Zelensky also talked about Ukrainian agricultural exports and the agreement on the Black Sea Grains Initiative to continue enabling food outflows.
They also discussed plans to expand the capacities of the EU-Ukraine solidarity routes, which have so far been used since the start of the war to transport the vast majority of Ukraine’s agricultural and non-agricultural exports, and on the strengthening pre-invasion sanctions against Moscow, as well as supporting Iran on Russian aggression and its responses.
Source: DN
