Why is it important for Ukraine to get help from the EU as soon as possible?

The first tranche of EUR 4.5 billion from the EU is only 12% of the total expected external support for 2024.

However, the aid package from the EU will significantly facilitate the implementation of the Ukrainian state budget, as already in January 2024, budget expenditures had to be significantly reduced to get through the month with the lowest foreign aid inflows ever, CES economist Maksym Samoiliuk said in a commentary to Focus.

In fact, the expected first tranche of EUR 4.5 billion will cover most of the state budget financing needs in March.

As for pensions and social payments to Ukrainians, they promise stability in 2024.

“There is and will be stability in social payments and pensions – even in January, the priority was to finance two areas: defense and social payments. Accordingly, with the resumption of foreign aid, all social payments will be financed. It is known that the absolute priority for the budget is currently to finance defense, while social payments are second in importance. At the beginning of this year, there was uncertainty about foreign aid from the EU and the US. Funding from the EU has been agreed upon, but not yet from the US; but the funds we will receive this year should be enough to ensure stable financing of social payments. Moreover, stable financing of social payments is included in the program of cooperation with the IMF as one of the obligations of our government. So, the financing of social payments will be stable throughout 2024,” says Maksym Samoiliuk.

Origin: Focus