The European Parliament (EP) by a majority vote adopted a resolution in support of the European Commission’s (EC) proposals to revise the EU’s 2021-2027 multiannual budget, which, in particular, include provisions for the establishment of a special EUR 50 billion Ukraine Fund to provide financial support to Ukraine during the war and for its post-war recovery.
According to an Ukrinform correspondent, the vote took place today during a plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg. 393 deputies voted in favor of the resolution, 136 voted against, and 92 European politicians abstained.
The EP … reaffirms the fact that this review (of the budget) should focus on the multiple consequences of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, on strengthening the open strategic autonomy and sovereignty of the EU and on providing the EU with adequate flexibility to respond to crises, the document says.
The EP’s resolution contains a separate section dedicated to providing long-term support for Ukraine.
The EP welcomes the EC’s proposal for a long-term structural solution to address Ukraine’s financial needs and its linkage to the EU budget, covering support for macro-financial stability, the investment environment and financing for medium- and long-term recovery and reconstruction, implementation of reforms related to accession (to the EU) and development of administrative capacities, the document reads.
At the same time, the EP emphasizes that such a long-term instrument is the only possible way to attract other donors and ensure effective and targeted spending in the interests of Ukraine and its people. MEPs insist that the Ukraine Fund within the EU’s multiannual budget should be adopted as soon as possible, immediately after the MFF (the EU’s multiannual financial framework) is finalized.
European politicians called for such a Ukrainian Fund to be given some flexibility, given the uncertainty of the situation around Ukraine. In this context, they welcomed the creation, as proposed by the EC, of a so-called Ukrainian Reserve, which could be mobilized by the EU budgetary bodies, one of which is the EP, to address Ukraine’s immediate needs.
The EP … emphasizes the need to protect the rule of law and the financial interests of the EU to prevent, detect, and remedy cases of corruption, conflict of interest, and other irregularities in the use of EU funds in Ukraine, which should be based on the principles of transparency and accountability. This (Ukrainian) fund should include clear provisions and safeguards to achieve such goals, the resolution says.
The MEPs recalled that since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine and standing in effective solidarity with its people in their fight to defend democracy and against Russian authoritarianism. Since the beginning of the war, the EU has already provided more than EUR 30 billion in financial support to Ukraine alone, and will remain at the center of such efforts, given the need to support Ukraine on its path to EU membership.
As reported, after Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has provided Ukraine with financial, economic, humanitarian, and military assistance worth more than EUR 81 billion. Ukraine Fund, which will be created as part of the EU’s 2024-2027 multiannual budget, will provide up to EUR 50 billion in direct budgetary support for Ukraine, to support reforms and to create a favorable investment climate and conditions for attracting private investors to Ukraine’s recovery.
