MEPs outline conditions for supporting Ukraine Facility creation

"It is extremely important to reach an agreement before the end of the year so that Ukraine can receive support as quickly as possible," said Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

At the same time, he noted, the Ukrainian government should create a recovery and reconstruction plan with a detailed schedule of investments and reforms which is also necessary as part of the EU accession process. "We are already working together with Ukraine to create such a plan," Hahn added.

Speaker Eider Gardiazabal Rubial emphasized the importance of the Facility's use of frozen Russian assets: "Russia must pay Ukraine for the damage and destruction caused. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a legislative framework for the introduction of a mechanism that would provide for the confiscation of Russian assets to be used to compensate for the damage caused to the victims of aggression."

Another speaker at the debate, Michael Gahler, stressed that "this is a long-term and ambitious project" that Europe is starting right now, when the war is not yet over, because it is ready to work together with Ukraine on its European future. "This money is not just a loan, we want to see it in investment projects, in private investments in the economy," the MEP said.

He also called on his colleagues to complete all the formalities already this year, so that the financial support is not delayed at the beginning of 2024. "It is extremely important that Ukraine not just win the war, but strengthen democracy at all levels," Gahler said.

As reported, since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the European Union has provided financial assistance to Ukraine to the tune of more than 70 billion euros, including a EUR 18 billion Macro-financial Assistance+ (MFA+) package which will be paid by the end of the current year to ensure the functioning of the state in conditions of war.

The EU has already used the available financial reserves for such financial support for Ukraine, so the European Commission came up with a proposal to create a EUR 50 billion Ukraine Facility in the EU budget. It consists of 17 billion euros in grants and 33 billion euros in loans and is designed for 2024-2027. Payment of these funds will depend on Ukraine's progress in reforms that bring it closer to EU membership. The vote on the creation of the Ukraine Facility is scheduled in the European Parliament for Tuesday.

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