Since the beginning of the war in February, the EU has already made 19.7 billion euros available to Ukraine. The war-torn country is to continue to receive financial support – albeit with the addition that future loans will have to be reimbursed later.
Ukraine must be prepared to have to repay new financial aid from the EU from 2033. According to a proposal by the EU Commission, the support of up to 18 billion euros planned for the coming year is to be paid out in the form of loans. Only the interest costs would be borne by the EU member states. The EU Commission therefore spoke of loans on extremely favorable terms. The country should have up to 35 years for the repayment planned from 2033.
So far, the EU has supported Ukraine with both loans and grants. Since the beginning of the war, “Team Europe” has already mobilized 19.7 billion – not including the money for arms deliveries to the Ukrainian armed forces, the commission said.
With the new financial aid, the EU wants to enable the Ukrainian state to continue paying wages and pensions. In addition, the operation of hospitals, schools and emergency shelters for resettled people should be guaranteed. In addition, the money should also be used to restore infrastructure destroyed by the Russian war of aggression. These include, for example, power lines, water systems, and roads and bridges.
The EU Commission wants to raise the money for the loans on the financial markets. The costs are estimated at just over 600 million euros per year. Money from the EU budget is to serve as a guarantee for the loans. In order for the EU Commission’s proposal to be implemented, the governments of the EU states and the European Parliament still have to agree.
“There is no time to lose, so we hope to get final agreement with the co-legislators later this year,” said Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis. The aim is to make the first payment as early as January. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently put Ukraine’s monthly financial needs in the coming year at three to four billion euros. The EU now wants to organize up to 1.5 billion euros of this. The rest should come from other international partners, for example.
