The European Parliament's Trade Committee has approved support for financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of about €35 billion from frozen Russian assets.
This is stated in a statement on the European Parliament's website.
"The Committee on Trade voted 31 in favour, 4 against and no abstentions in favour of the Commission's proposal to support Ukraine with an exceptional macro-financial assistance loan of up to €35 billion. This is the EU's contribution to the G7 initiative to support Ukraine by providing around €45 billion to respond to Ukraine's urgent financial needs in the face of Russia's brutal aggressive war," the statement said.
The statement emphasises that payments under this macro-financial loan, as well as other loans from the G7 countries, will be made from the extraordinary proceeds of the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank and will be coordinated through the Credit Mechanism for Cooperation with Ukraine, which was recently established at the suggestion of the European Commission.
"Future proceeds from the frozen Russian assets, as well as possible contributions from EU Member States and other countries, will be made available to Ukraine through the mechanism to help the country repay the exceptional loan from the MFA, as well as loans from other G7 partners that the Commission considers appropriate. These funds will be used only for the servicing and repayment of the respective loans," the statement said.
It adds that Ukraine will be able to use the new macro-financial loan in areas it deems necessary. The system for managing and controlling such disbursements is outlined in the Ukraine Plan, along with special measures to prevent abuse and other violations. The new funds under the Macro-Financial Facility will be available to Ukraine until the end of 2024 and are to be disbursed by the end of 2025.
Disbursements under this macro-financial loan are conditional on Ukraine's compliance with its commitments to effective democratic transition and respect for human rights. These and other political prerequisites will be set out in a Memorandum of Understanding that will determine the disbursement procedure for the loan.
- The day before, the European Council agreed on up to €35 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine and a new loan facility to meet G7 commitments.
- Hungary said it would block a 35 billion euro loan to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets until a new president is elected in the United States.