Current:Home > StocksEU pays the final tranche of Ukraine budget support for 2023. Future support is up in the air -MoneyBase
EU pays the final tranche of Ukraine budget support for 2023. Future support is up in the air
View
Date:2025-04-14 01:20:01
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday paid the final tranche of a multibillion-euro support package to Ukraine to help keep its war-ravaged economy afloat this year, leaving the country without a financial lifeline from Europe as of next month.
The EU has sent 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) each month in 2023 to ensure macroeconomic stability and rebuild critical infrastructure destroyed in the war. It’s also helping to pay wages and pensions, keep hospitals and schools running, and provide shelter for people forced from their homes.
To ensure that Ukraine has predictable, longer-term income, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, proposed to provide the country with 50 billion euros ($55 billion.) At a summit last week, 26 of the 27 nation bloc’s leaders endorsed the plan, but Hungary imposed a veto.
The decision came as a major blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky, days after he had failed to persuade U.S. lawmakers to approve an additional $61 billion for his war effort.
Hungary’s nationalist leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is widely considered to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU. Critics accuse him of putting Moscow’s interests ahead of those of his EU and NATO allies.
Orban has called for an immediate end to the fighting, which has ground on for almost two years, and pushed for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Last week, he accused his EU partners of seeking to prolong the war and said that sending more money to Ukraine was a “violation of (Hungary’s) interests.”
Orban is set to meet again with fellow EU leaders on Feb. 1 to try to break the deadlock.
The 50-billion-euro package is included in a revision of the bloc’s long-term budget. More money is needed to pay for EU policy priorities given the fallout from the war, including high energy prices and inflation, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Announcing that 2023 macro-financial support to Ukraine had come to an end, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered no hint of what help Kyiv might receive come January. Commission officials haven’t been able to answer questions about what financial support might be available.
“We need to continue supporting Ukraine to ensure its economic stability, to reform and to rebuild. This is why we are working hard to find an agreement on our proposal of 50 billion euros for Ukraine between next year until 2027,” she said in a statement.
The EU has provided almost 85 billion euros ($93 billion), including in financial, humanitarian, emergency budget and military support, to Ukraine since Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Spanish singer Miguel Bosé reveals he and children were robbed, bound at Mexico City home
- Dick Van Dyke learns ukulele at age 97: 'Never too late to start something new'
- Ashley Olsen's Full House Costars Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber React to Birth of Her Son
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- NASA flew a spy plane into thunderstorms to help predict severe weather: How it works.
- Man, 86, accused of assuming dead brother’s identity in 1965 convicted of several charges
- Americans are demanding more: Desired salary for new jobs now nearly $79,000
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- These $11 Jeans Have Been Around for 47 Years and They’re Still Trending With 94 Colors To Choose From
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Maxine Hong Kingston, bell hooks among those honored by Ishmael Reed’s Before Columbus Foundation
- Court battle begins over Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming health care for minors
- Georgia school district is banning books, citing sexual content, after firing a teacher
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Tropical Storm Harold path live updates: System makes landfall in Texas
- ‘Get out of my house!’ Video shows 98-year-old mother of Kansas newspaper publisher upset amid raid
- Lauryn Hill announces 25th anniversary tour of debut solo album, Fugees to co-headline
Recommendation
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Proof Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott's Daughter Stormi Is Ready for Kids Baking Championship
2 injured in shooting at Alabama A&M campus
GOT BAG Eco-Friendly Backpacks Will Earn You an A in Sustainable Style
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Teen Mackenzie Shirilla Reads Tearful Statement Denying She Intentionally Murdered Boyfriend
Powerball jackpot reaches $291 million ahead of Monday's drawing. See winning numbers for Aug. 21.
A Pennsylvania court says state police can’t hide how it monitors social media