European Union will give Ukraine 9 billion euros for “immediate liquidity”

The leaders of the European Union (EU) meeting in Brussels agreed to send Ukraine 9 billion euros (equivalent to about 9.63 billion dollars) to support its economy amid the Russian invasion, European Council President Charles Michel announced on Monday.

The Council “will continue to help Ukraine with their immediate liquidity needs,” Michel tweeted during the summit, noting “firm and concrete support for the reconstruction of Ukraine”.

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The Ukrainian government estimates its most urgent needs at around 5,000 millions of euros per month. The European financing will be carried out through loans with special interest rates, a European source specified.

On the day, the leaders of the European Union they also agreed to implement an embargo on a significant portion of their oil imports from Russia.

According to Michel, the agreement will affect “more than two thirds” of European purchases of Russian oil, as part of the sixth package of sanctions of the European Union against Russia.

Diplomatic sources advanced that the agreement focuses on the embargo of Russian oil imports that arrive by sea, and excludes deliveries through pipelines for the time being.

The plan was the way out found for overcome Hungary’s opposition to a blanket embargo on Russian oil, as the country – dependent on crude it receives from Russia by pipeline – says such a move would threaten its energy security.

In addition to the controversial oil embargo, the sixth plan of measures of the European Union against Russia includes the removal of more Russian banks from the Swift interbank network and the inclusion of new names on the list of sanctioned Russian officials.

Source: Elcomercio

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