The European Union’s (EU) creation of a single instrument for supporting Ukraine’s economy is a key step in the European Commission’s (EC) plan for long-term financial assistance to Ukraine, Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) foreign policy experts wrote on Facebook on Jan. 11.
“However, it does not include budgetary issues like the overall size of the instrument and the ratio of grants and loans, which will depend on the final outcome of the negotiations on the mid-term review of the multi-annual budgetary framework for 2021-2027.”
This Ukraine Facility Program is expected to be approved by the EU Council and the European Parliament, although Hungary remains an impediment.
“Budapest recently made public a proposal to annually approve the amount of EU aid to Ukraine, for which it promised to vote.”
That proposal did not garner much support, and there is widespread belief that Hungary is using Ukraine funding as leverage in its own negotiations with the EC.
At the same time, amid delays in the provision of military and financial assistance from the United States and the EU, Kyiv has intensified its efforts to strengthen bilateral support with countries like Norway, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Lithuania.
“This list is likely to grow. However, despite the importance of these initiatives, they cannot fully replace the assistance from Washington and Brussels,” the experts concluded.
Kyiv’s foreign aid requirements for 2024 will amount to more than $37 billion, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said recently.