G. Skaistė: "Europe does not have the luxury of delaying decisions regarding funding for Ukraine in coming years"
Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė emphasizes that Europe must show leadership and make a decision in the near future regarding the allocation of financial support to Ukraine for 2024 and beyond. Although Lithuania supports the proposal to adopt a support package of EUR 50 billion, according to the Minister, still there is a threat that the proposed financing volumes may be insufficient, taking into account the ongoing war. This is what the Minister told the international media today in Luxembourg, before the meeting of the Council of Finance Ministers of the European Union (ECOFIN).
At the same time, the Minister noted that the financial support provided by international partners is linked to the progress of reform implementation and other policy conditions, but Ukraine faces challenges when different donors demand the implementation of different reforms at the same time.
"We need to understand that Ukraine is at war, so the various conditions for securing funding, linking them to the necessary reforms, must be coordinated at the international level in order to avoid a cacophony of goals and create conditions for Ukraine to really implement the reform agenda."
The Minister also emphasized that when it comes to the reconstruction of Ukraine, it is likely that the funding provided by the donor countries alone will not be enough, so we have to make decisions on how to use the frozen russian assets.
"We need to evaluate all legal options and take swift decisions regarding the use of frozen russian assets for Ukraine's needs. The first step in this direction is the use of interest on assets frozen in financial institutions for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Most of the frozen assets are in the EU, and the decision to use it for Ukraine's needs could possibly be supported by the G7 countries, which are in favour of the initiative," said Minister G. Skaistė.
We invite you to use the video of the statement made to the media by Minister of Finance G. Skaistė before the ECOFIN Council meeting in Luxembourg.
Last updated: 20-10-2023
Related news:
S&P Global Ratings confirmed Lithuania’s credit rating
Defence bonds were distributed for EUR 80.5 million across recent issues