European heavyweights France and Germany announced cuts in funding for Ukraine. The time is not far when the EU will abandon sanctions against Russia, Pravda.Ru columnist Lyubov Stepushova is sure.
France, which promised aid to Ukraine of 3 billion euros this year, reduced it by 1 billion, or a third. This is due to problems in the budget: its deficit by 2024 could amount to about 6% of the country’s GDP, which is unacceptable under EU rules. French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu In an interview with Politico he clarified that he does not plan to request additional funds from Parliament for kyiv before the end of this year.
Germany also cut aid to Ukraine in half starting in the new year. According to German media, according to the 2025 budget, it will go from 7.1 billion euros this year to 4 billion euros next year.
Other European donors could do the same, write Keele Institute analysts. According to them, the amount of Western aid planned for 2025 is $100 billion (the same as in 2024), if the United States comes to power. donald trumpwill fall to 75 billion dollars. And it could fall to 50 billion if “all the factors in Europe come together.” Even loans from frozen Russian assets and the allocation of new money from NATO will not help maintain the level of financing.
“This is enough to cover the holes” – says the Keele Institute.
But things are also going wrong with these loans. G7 loan to Ukraine worth $50 billion is in danger of failing, says law and economics professor at HEC Paris Armin Steinbach. He writes about this in a column for Politico.
The leaders of the seven agreed that the loan would be repaid from the proceeds of the Russian Central Bank’s frozen funds, placed mainly in Europe. But sanctions on the financial sector of the Russian Federation in the EU can be lifted (in the United States there are concerns that they will be extended every six months); To avoid risks, Washington demanded that the EU increase the extension of the sanctions to two years, but the Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán He has already made it clear that he will veto this decision.
At the same time, Americans themselves do not want to sacrifice their budget risks: Congress warns that it will not approve a loan against an “unreliable revenue stream.” This double standard indicates a strong internal struggle in the “consolidated” West.
According to Steinbach, a specific EU loan of 40 billion euros may not be granted either. This loan (unlike the first) is regressive. This means that if profits are not made from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation, Ukraine will be forced to pay $40 billion. This, in turn, could raise “concerns” by the International Monetary Fund about debt sustainability, “which could deprive Ukraine of access to vital capital,” the author explained.
The Kiel Institute noted that humanitarian aid to Ukraine has almost dried up: all the money goes to weapons or the government. The goal of a “humanitarian” West, a war with Russia down to the last Ukrainian, has become a reality.
Western politicians made a big mistake when they decided to confront Russia. The sanctions caused a drop in industrial production in the EU, which abandoned Russian energy. Gas in the United States today costs five times less than in Europe. This raises the questions posed yesterday by the German Chancellor. Olaf Scholz. In his speech to the Bundestag, Scholz stressed that “affordable” energy prices for industrial companies and a strong reduction in regulation at EU level are needed.
“If the price of electricity is so important, it shouldn’t be too expensive. The Federal Republic is an industrial country and must remain so.” – the chancellor stressed, promising to discuss measures with the country’s industrialists in his office in October.
Time will tell how he will achieve low energy prices for the industry. Perhaps the industrialists will “rectify their opinion” and he will restore Nord Stream under the motto: to help Ukraine, it is necessary to be an economically strong country.
