Dombrovskis: One EU member state shall not be allowed to derail EUR 18 bln grant to Ukraine, funds to start flowing in Jan

BRUSSELS. Dec 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A political solution that will allow EUR 18 billion of macro-financial assistance to be provided to Ukraine in 2023 will be found soon so that funds begin to flow as early as January 2023, Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis is convinced.

Member States are committed to working to ensure that these funds reach Ukraine as early as January. Ukraine is at war and desperately needs support. The EU cannot allow one Member State to delay and derail EU financial support. The EU will do it, one way or another, he said at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday following a meeting of the European Economic and Financial Council.

At this meeting, it was planned to vote on three amendments to the EU economic legislation, which would allow to provide these funds to Ukraine. Hungary blocked the adoption of the necessary legislative amendment, which required a unanimous decision. At the same time, the Council was able to pass two other amendments, which required a qualified majority.

Dombrovskis assured that work on finding the solution would continue in the coming days. The EU must demonstrate unity and solidarity and keep the promises made to Ukraine, he said.

Speaking about possible solutions, the Executive Vice President recalled that the Commission had already outlined them. These are two options: loan guarantees can be from the EU budget, or they can be guarantees from member states, he said.

Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, who chaired the meeting, assured that everything possible would be done to ensure that these funds were disbursed early January 2023.