European Commission to present specific plan for financing Ukraine within weeks - executive vice president

MOSCOW. Oct 17 (Interfax) - The European Union is closely collaborating with financial institutions to provide Ukraine with predictable financing, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said following a meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko and European Investment Bank (EIB) President Werner Hoyer on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington.

Ukrainian media have quoted Dombrovskis as saying that the European Commission would offer a specific financing plan for Ukraine within weeks.

As Ukraine's financing needs are rising, "we should look at a more strategic/concessional financing plan to ensure Ukrainian economic stability," Dombrovskis said.

"G7 members are helping to support Ukraine - now others must step up," he said.

The European Union is working to ensure the stable and predictable financing for Ukraine over the next year and then switch to post-crisis reconstruction, which it is doing in close cooperation with European financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank, and has offered EU guarantees for the EIB to continue to support Ukraine, Dombrovskis said.

As reported earlier, a Ukrainian draft state budget for 2023 passed in the first reading envisions $37.9 billion in foreign financing to cover the budget deficit and $13.6 billion for reconstruction needs. The United States is expected to make the most substantial contribution ($18 billion and $6.5 billion respectively) through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Ukrainian government named the IMF as another key source of financing for the budget, which should provide $15 billion, while the EU and other sources are expected to contribute $4.9 billion to finance the Ukrainian budget and $7.1 billion for the country's reconstruction.

The EU has issued 2.2 billion euros in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine since the start of the crisis and is expected to provide about 2 billion euros in October and 3 billion euros in December.