EU Ready to Provide EUR 11 B to Ukraine, Says EC President

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The European Union is ready to give EUR 11 B of financial support to Ukraine over the next couple of years.

Speaking at a news conference held at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, EC President Jose Manuel Barroso asserted that a peaceful solution to the current crisis is "the most immediate priority for the EU," as the BBC quotes him as saying.

There were no official details on the package, which, in Barroso's words, will be aimed at assisting "a committed, inclusive and reforms oriented government" in the country.

The website FXStreet.com, however, reports leaks containing basic elements in EC's budget for rescuing Ukraine.

A total of EUR 3 B will be assigned to Ukraine so that it can deal with its loans.

EUR 8 B are to be transacted by the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Another EUR 3.5 B could possibly be allocated through the European Neighborhood Partnership Instruments, mechanisms which were used in EU-Ukraine relations as a step toward signing the Association Agreement refuted last year by ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.

Aid by the European Union, though significant, would not suffice to cover Ukraine's financial needs, as the country's Finance Ministry announced last week it needs USD 35 B to rescue the economy.

Earlier, the US said it could provide USD 1 B to the government in Kiev.

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