The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says that in the coming days Ukraine will receive the next and last tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.5 billion in 2023, which will build a “small but important bridge” necessary to allow further financing of EUR 50 billion for the period up to 2027. This issue will be discussed at an extraordinary EU summit to be held in late January – early February 2024.
She said this on Friday in Brussels at a press conference after the European Council meeting. “In the coming days, we will disburse the last EUR 1.5 billion for Ukraine this year, which was agreed as part of the so-called macro-financial assistance package for 2023. This will be disbursed in the next few days – EUR1.5 billion. This will help Ukraine finance its needs at the beginning of the year 2024. This is important to build a small but important bridge (to new financing). We are using the time before the European Council meeting (so that) either we have the agreement of the 27 (member states) or we will work on alternatives that will allow us to make operational decisions when the time comes. It is very important for us that there is consistent, predictable and reliable funding for Ukraine. This is important for Ukraine, for the business environment and investors,” said von der Leyen.
For his part, President of the European Council Charles Michel expressed confidence that a solution would be found to continue financially supporting Ukraine. “I am confident that a solution will be found, because the starting point is that we have the support of 26 leaders to fulfill our promises. And the other point is what we call the ‘negotiating box’ – the latest proposals have been encouraged by 26 member states. This means that we will start the next meeting knowing that 26 member states support the same goals, the same priorities, including a EUR 50 billion package for Ukraine over 4 years. We have various tools available to ensure that we will be able to deliver on our promises,” he assured.
