European Council: EU will provide Ukraine with a predictable and stable income flow next year

Ukraine was the focus of the debate on the second day of the European Council, which took place in Brussels on 20 and 21 October.

The European Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the recent indiscriminate Russian missile and drone attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure in Kyiv and across Ukraine and  the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. 

The Council also called on all countries to align with EU sanctions imposed on Russia. EU heads of states also discussed how to further increase collective pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression.

The European Council also called for the timely provision of the remaining  €3 billion in macro financial assistance for Ukraine, and invited the  European Commission to present, and the Council of the EU to work on, a more structural solution for providing assistance to Ukraine. “The full potential of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine should be used to ease its access to the Single Market,” says the final document issued after the Council.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after the Council that the focus in the discussions on Ukraine was on the year to come. 

“It is very important for Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income. Ukraine says to us that they need approximately €3 to €4 billion per month to have enough resources for the basics,” said von der Leyen, adding that this sum should be financed by the European Union, the USA and financial institutions. “Therefore the discussion was about €1-€1.5 billion from the EU. For the next year it will give an amount of €18 billion – the amount that Ukraine can count on,” announced von der Leyen.

Find out more

Press release