Ukrainian Finance Minister calls for at least 18 billion euros from EU

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Apr 2023 22:41
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Ukrainian Finance Minister asks for at least 18 billion euros of aid from the European Union in 2024 to make up for he Ukrainian government's budget deficits.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko speaks at an interview after attending a series of meetings with finance officials from around the words at the International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C., US, 15 April 2023 (Reuters)

Ukraine needs at least 18 billion euros of aid from the European Union (EU) in 2024, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko announced on Saturday.

"Of course, it depends on the military campaign, but I think it could be no less than the €18 billion as we (received) for this year," Marchenko stated prior to an unofficial meeting with EU Finance Ministers in Sweden.

The Minister said earlier in November that Kiev has been facing around $5 billion in monthly budget deficits since the start of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine spends around two-thirds of aid, loans, and grants received on its military.

In December, the EU agreed to transfer 18 billion euros to Ukraine in the form of financial aid while official Ukranian figures show, as of March 2023, that the country's sovereign debt exceeds $116 billion.

Furthermore, Kiev authorities announced a 10-year reconstruction plan that will cost Ukraine around $750 billion.

The Ukrainian plan is almost twice that of the World Bank estimates, which previously estimated the cost of reconstruction to be at $ 411 billion.

The US made available $4.9 billion in aid to Ukraine which Kiev will be able to exploit in September, according to a statement from the US State Department.

On his visit in early April this year, Germany's Minister of Economy and Energy Robert Habeck announced that he is here to signal to Ukraine “that we believe it (Ukraine) will be victorious, that it will be rebuilt,” adding that Ukraine could be "an economically strong partner in the future."

This comes in the context of European and American efforts to aid the reconstruction process of vital infrastructure in the country which will allow the Western powers to strengthen their economic presence in the country through long-term investments and bolster ties with the Ukrainian government and private sector.