Ukraine's ambassador to EU suggests that €50 billion aid to Ukraine will increase

Vsevolod Chentsov, the head of Ukraine’s mission to the EU, has suggested that the European Union may consider increasing the size of the €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, initially allocated for four years.

Source: Chentsov in an interview with European Pravda

Details: "I think Ukraine will receive more than €50 billion, because in the middle [of the programme] – that is, after two years – there is a possibility for this instrument to be reviewed. And I think it will be revised upwards," the ambassador noted.

Chentsov explained that Ukraine's needs are far greater than the amount allocated – "two orders of magnitude larger".

"But when we are talking about our macro-financial stability, about the investment component... about technical assistance, including what we need to prepare for membership, I think our needs will be defined more precisely," the diplomat added. 

Chentsov emphasised the importance of how the grant and loan portions of the aid will be filled and whether frozen Russian assets will be utilised.

"Will we be satisfied with capping them at €50 billion? Probably not. Because Russian assets are [worth] far more than €50 billion. And even if we are talking about income, well, over four years, as they’ve calculated, it's €17 billion. So we expect that member countries will fill the grant portion not just with income from Russian assets," the diplomat pointed out.

Background:

• The EU aims to commence disbursements under the agreed €50 billion Ukraine Facility in March.
• The Ukrainian government has also indicated that Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of macro-financial support payments from the EU, in the amount of €4.5 billion, under the Ukraine Facility in March.

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