Vice-Minister of Finance M. Liutvinskas: "Funds of an additional EUR 50 billion loan by the West to Ukraine must go for both the budgetary and military needs of the country"
On 20-21 June, Vice-Minister of Finance Mindaugas Liutvinskas will attend the meetings of the Eurogroup (EG), the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) and the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg. The meetings focus on further financial support to Ukraine, including the use of frozen russian assets and the development of EIB investments in the area of defence and security.
"We welcome the political deal reached at the G7 level to provide an additional loan of around EUR 50 billion to Ukraine, using the profits generated by the frozen assets of the russian central bank. This loan will be crucial to cover Ukraine's financing gap for the next year. We need to agree on practical modalities for the implementation of the loan both at the EU level and with international partners in the near future and ensure that we take all the necessary decisions still this year. It is also important that the funds of this loan can be redirected to both the Ukrainian budget and the military needs,” M. Liutvinskas said.
The Ukraine Plan was endorsed by ECOFIN on 14 May and will serve as a basis for further payments under the Ukraine Facility. After the approval of the plan, Ukraine will receive an advance payment of EUR 1.9 billion, which is planned to be made by the end of June. To date, EUR 6 billion of interim financing has been disbursed from the Ukraine Facility to the country in the form of loans. A total of EUR 13 billion in loans and EUR 3 billion in grants is expected to be disbursed this year.
During ECOFIN, ministers will seek political agreement on the VAT in the Digital Age package, which aims to modernise the EU VAT system to make it more efficient and fraud-proof. The meeting will also discuss the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
EG ministers will discuss the international role of the euro, based on a review prepared by the European Central Bank (ECB). There will also be a discussion on the findings of the interim mission to the euro area under Article IV of the Treaty establishing the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and on the competitiveness of the euro area economy.
The meeting of the EIB Board of Governors will approve the strategic guidelines of the EIB Group setting out the activities for 2024-2027 and the main investment priorities.
“Given the geopolitical situation and increased threats to European security, we welcome the decision to increase the EIB investments in the area of defence and security by extending the definition of dual-use equipment and the eligibility requirements for companies to receive the EIB financing. Looking further, we need to seek decisions that would allow the EIB to contribute even more significantly to strengthening the EU’s defence capabilities, including investments in defence industrial projects,” M. Liutvinskas stated.
Last updated: 13-08-2024
Related news:
S&P Global Ratings confirmed Lithuania’s credit rating
Defence bonds were distributed for EUR 80.5 million across recent issues