The EU Council on Tuesday cemented an additional 5 billion euros (nearly $5 billion) in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine by formally adopting the move agreed by the bloc’s finance ministers earlier this month, according to the Council’s website.
This marks the second stage of the EU’s mobilization of up to 9 billion euros (nearly $9 billion) to support Ukraine’s macro-financial stabilization, “strengthen the immediate resilience of the country and sustain its capacity towards recovery,” the statement reads.
It follows the 1 billion euros (about $1 billion) package adopted by the EU Council in July.
While the total macro-financial assistance package is made up of both loans and grants, the latest 5 billion euros is purely in loans, to be repaid by Ukraine within 25 years with guarantees, an EU spokesperson told CNN.
The “new loan of €5 billion will be used for the day-to-day running of the state and to ensure the operation of the country’s critical infrastructure, such as offices, schools and hospitals,” according to Zbyněk Stanjura, the finance minister of the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU Council presidency.
Some background: EU finance ministers had agreed on a statement on Sept. 9 in support of the additional 5 billion euros in assistance for Ukraine. Today, this additional assistance was formally adopted, according to the press release.
