Tense debates surrounding the adoption of the EU medium-term budget for 2024-2027 and a new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation have alarming signs for Ukraine, but a compromise can be found, is confident Alona Lebedieva, an economic expert and the owner of the Ukrainian multidisciplinary Industrial and Investment group of companies Aurum Group.
“During the last months, we have been observing the intense discussion of the Western partners around the further support of Ukraine, in the issue of allocation of funds for the supply of weapons, the divergence of views within the EU regarding sanctions and providing Ukraine with the 50 billion euros needed to ensure its solvency, – noted Alona Lebedieva, – In the expert environment, this situation is compared to a game of football, where the main thing is for the ball to end up on the opponent’s side. However, in reality there is no other side, but there is a common space in the fight against the Russian enemy. And the aid to Ukraine need to continue.“
“An alarming signal for Ukraine is that, in the context of the EU’s budget priorities until 2027, the European Commission decided to combine Kyiv’s support with other funding requests. It is known that EUR 50 billion for Ukraine, consisting of EUR 17 billion in grants and EUR 33 billion in loans, was combined with requests for almost EUR 19 billion in interest payments on joint EU borrowings, EUR 15 billion in migration funds and EUR 10 billion euros for investments in “strategic technologies”. That is, we are talking about the fact that the further on, the more Ukraine will have to rely on its own forces, and under the current conditions it is very, very difficult to do this, – noted Lebedieva, – In a certain sense, the allocation of 50 billion euros, as well as the approval of a new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which should cut off the “loopholes” for circumventing European bans – this is another indicator and marker of the unity of the European Union in supporting Ukraine,” – emphasized Alona Lebedieva.
According to Alona Lebedieva, despite the complexity of the situation with aid in general, it is not a stalemate: “If the government has to look for resources inside the country, it will turn into a painful increase in tariffs and taxes for the country’s population first of all. However, I hope that by the end of the year, compromise solutions on aid issues can still be found, both in America and in Europe. Everyone understands that international aid is the main source of covering the budget deficit, and therefore it is critically important for Ukraine. And if the economy of Ukraine “collapses”, it will be possible to put an end to the struggle with Russia.“