Until one of the countries of the European Union agreed to the terms of aid to our country, the other made it difficult to make a decision.
The European Union may soon announce the allocation of Ukraine an additional tranche in the amount of five billion euros. The funds are part of a larger €9 billion support package promised in May. Its provision is delayed, in particular, due to disagreements between the European Commission and member states, Bloomberg reports with reference to EU diplomats.
As sources note, the European Commission will offer a package of loans as early as next week to direct money to cover urgent costs of our state, including wages and other payments.
According to the information of the interlocutors, representatives of the European Union countries preliminarily agreed on a loan for Ukraine in the amount of five billion euros at a meeting on Friday, September 2.
At the same time, Hungary opposed the aid decision due to concerns about burden-sharing among states. The official approval of the transfer of these funds requires the approval of all the countries of the European Union.
Since May, the EU has sent Ukraine only one billion euro tranche out of the promised nine. It was previously reported that the allocation of macro-financial assistance is blocked by Germany, not wanting to provide money in the form of interest-free loans.
Bloomberg noted that Germany instead offers the EU to send non-refundable grants to Ukraine, insisting that more debt will only further hurt its economy, which is nearing default. The European Union, on the other hand, is talking about preferential loans with greater guarantees from member countries in case of default of the Ukrainian economy
During the meeting of EU representatives on September 2, Germany also proposed that the one billion euros provided by it on a bilateral basis be taken into account in the distribution of efforts between the European states. Then a very large group of European Union governments could agree on all the remaining aid in the form of a loan.
Read also: In August, Ukraine received a record amount of financial aid – who supported the most
According to diplomats , after that other countries could also demand the reflection of bilateral support in joint aid. This will complicate the discussion.
Sources expect that the EU finance ministers will still make a final decision during a meeting in Prague next week. The new package must also be approved by the European Parliament later.
Currently, the EC and national governments are also discussing the details of the remaining three billion euros of aid.
Related video
Previously, the high representative of the European Union Joseph Borrell announced new macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of up to 8 billion euros.
