For the first time, the European Union admits that it cannot fulfill a promise made to Ukraine: it had to guarantee €9 billion in loans for this year, but only six will arrive. Because the last three, long-awaited for the end of 2022, will be postponed to January and will form part of a structural package of 18 billion per year (1.5 per month). In total, the EU will have contributed 7.2 billion (for the six already mentioned, 1.2 billion will be disbursed by direct funds from the Commission, without resorting to State guarantees).
“Unfortunately, after a long discussion, already in the middle of the year, it was not possible to find a solution to provide Ukraine with 3 billion euros of macro-financial assistance until this year. That’s why we insist that in the 2023 package the first disbursement takes place in January. We must guarantee the payment in January, considering the urgency of Ukraine’s financial needs”, explained the Vice-President of the Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, at the end of the Eurogroup meeting in which the ministers gave the green light to the 18 billion package. installment planned for 2022. “It is very difficult to look Ukrainian ministers in the eye. We promised help because they have problems with infrastructure, the social security system and the budget. It is difficult to explain to them why we have not been able to fulfill the promises made by our own governments for the money to be allocated by the end of the year”, admitted Zbynek Stanjura, Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic, the country that chairs the EU Council. “I have to give credit to the Commission’s proposal and if there is a delay just until the beginning of January it will not be excessive,” added the minister. “I appeal to all member states to make sure that we can look ahead and guarantee effective aid, because Ukraine needs that money for the war with Russia,” he concluded.
Complicating the loan game is the need for guarantees (61%) that bother several countries, mainly Germany. So far, it has preferred the grant formula over loans, which are easier to manage even in legislative terms. There is also Hungary which, also in order to put pressure on the European Commission (and get it to release its 7.2 billion Pnrr), has already made it known that it does not want to authorize any new loans at European level in support of to ‘Ukraine. He prefers the bilateral form.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
