German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said further financing of support for Ukraine should be separate from the European Union’s long-term budget and that the bloc will continue to find solutions to help Kyiv.
He told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance chiefs in Brussels on Friday that all member countries have fiscal constraints.
“We have to be careful in the multiannual financial framework that we do not overburden states, there is also a unanimity requirement and therefore priority must be given to reallocating funds, solutions must be found with the existing funds,” he said.
“For us it is essential to support Ukraine,” he added. “We have found solutions for Ukraine in the past and will continue to do so.”
Finance ministers from 16 EU countries pledged on Thursday to contribute over €400 million ($448 million) to the European Investment Bank’s fund to support the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, with first disbursements beginning in autumn.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s meeting, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said she was optimistic member states would give their backing for further aid.
“I expect that there will be unanimous agreement on the side of the ministers to continue to provide financial support to Ukraine so that we can continue to not only provide liquidity finance but also start to support investment in the resilience of the country,” she said.
--With assistance from Sofia Gerace.
(Updates with comments from Spanish economy minister starting in seventh paragraph.)
