The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, announced the payment of the first tranche of 50 billion euros of aid to Ukraine. This aid is part of the international effort to support Ukraine in the conditions of war and economic difficulties. The corresponding decision was made at a meeting of the European Commission.
The European Commission transferred to Ukraine the first tranche of macro-financial budget aid in the amount of 4.5 billion euros from the "Ukrainian Fund", the total amount of which is 50 billion euros. Head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell announced this at a briefing in Brussels on Wednesday based on the results of the Ukraine-EU Association Council, UNIAN correspondent reports.
He noted that the first tranche, as expected, amounted to 4.5 billion euros.
"Today we also made the first payment in the amount of 4.5 billion euros from the Ukrainian Fund - our 50 billion package to support the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine," Borrell said.
According to him, on Thursday, March 20, the European Council will discuss how to speed up Ukraine's accession to the EU.
On February 22, the European Parliament supported the decision to allocate 50 billion euros to Ukraine. The European Council stated that out of 50 billion euros, 33 billion will be loans, and another 17 billion will be grants. The mechanism itself for Ukraine will consist of three main components.
On February 6, 2024, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a preliminary agreement on a new support mechanism for Ukraine. Their statement said that the new mechanism will combine EU budget support for Ukraine into a single instrument, providing the country with consistent, predictable and flexible assistance for the period 2024-2027, adapted to the unprecedented challenges arising from the war.
On February 27, the European Parliament voted to provide Ukraine with EUR 50 billion in aid. 536 MEPs voted for the relevant decision. 40 legislators spoke against this proposal.
