EU SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE IN NUMBERS
The European Commission published this week a factsheet summarising the EU actions in solidarity with Ukraine after Russian’s invasion. Since February 2022, the EU, Member States and European financial institutions have been making available up to €49 billion in financial, humanitarian, emergency budget and military support to Ukraine.
The European Commission and EU Member States established, together with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes – essential corridors to ensure that Ukraine can export grain and other agricultural products, but also import the goods it needs, from humanitarian aid to animal feed and fertilisers. Since the start of the war, they have enabled the export of around 23 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products, generating about €20 billion of income for Ukrainian farmers and businesses. An extra billion euros is being mobilised to scale up the Solidarity Lanes, while the Commission will finance the transport of 40.000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain to vulnerable countries.
Finally, following EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the Commission noted that over €20 billion of assets of listed persons and entities have been frozen, and around €300 billion of the of the Russian Central Bank reserves are blocked in the EU and other G7 countries. To make the most of these funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine, the Commission has proposed different options to Member States, which it is now discussing with them and its international partners.
Today the Council announced to prolong by six months, until 31 July 2023, the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation.
Source: European Commission, Council of the EU