NDuring the plenary session held in the French city of Strasbourg, the European assembly endorsed the new Mechanism for Ukraine by 536 votes in favour, 40 against and 39 abstentions, foreseeing “a global capacity of 50 billion euros in grants, loans and guarantees , which demonstrate that the EU is at Ukraine’s side and will continue to support it as long as necessary”, the institution said in a statement.
This ‘green light’ comes as part of the review of the EU’s long-term budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) -, which was approved by 499 votes in favor, 67 against and 31 abstentions to allow the Union to “respond more effective response to evolving needs and unforeseen circumstances”.
“In particular, [esta revisão] strengthens the EU budget to address external challenges and migration, as well as crisis preparedness and the European Union’s budgetary flexibility. In line with Parliament’s demands, the review introduces a mechanism to combat the escalation of costs associated with repaying the NextGenerationEU recovery plan in a context of rising interest rates”, states the European Parliament.
Specifically, the resolution on the review of the MFF regulation was approved by 422 votes in favor, 101 against and 101 abstentions.
Still approved today was the creation of the Strategic Technologies Platform for Europe (STEP), by 517 votes in favor, 59 against and 51 abstentions, with the aim of “consolidating and strengthening Europe’s position in crucial technological areas”, such as betting ‘green’ or digital.
The endorsement comes three days after the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory and at a time when Ukraine is at risk of running out of liquidity at the end of March.
In recent days, several European governments have insisted on the need to provide Ukraine with military equipment and financing.
In early February, at an extraordinary European summit in Brussels, EU leaders agreed to revise the 2024-2027 MFF to include a financial reserve of €50 billion (of which €17 billion in grants) to the next four years for Ukraine, mobilized depending on the situation on the ground.
Crucial to this agreement was a setback on the part of Hungary, which threatened for several weeks to veto this financial reserve for Ukraine for objecting to the suspension of community funds to Budapest.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied weapons to Kiev and approved successive sanctions packages against Russian interests to try to diminish Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
Read Also: Ukraine. Russia says it occupied more than 300 square kilometers this year
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2510234/parlamento-europeu-da-luz-verde-a-apoio-de-50-mil-milhoes-a-ucrania
