G7 Finance: the major powers in search of a budget for Ukraine
G7 finance ministers meet in Germany, for talks dominated by the conflict in Ukraine and post-war reconstruction.
© Reuters
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The great fundraisers of the G7 meet until Friday May 20 in Germany.
Finance ministers from the UK, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany and the US will review the cascading impact of the war in Ukraine on the global economy .
First urgency of this meeting: complete a new round of funding to cover the Ukrainian budget for the current quarter.
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It is about ensuring Ukraine's solvency “
for the next few days, the next few weeks.
This is the challenge defined by Christian Lindner, the German Minister of Finance, who is hosting this meeting in Germany.
The Ukrainian economy is indeed devastated by the war launched by Russia and risks a massive contraction.
To run the country, kyiv asks for 5 billion dollars a month.
Extension
The United States put on track last week
an extension of 40 billion dollars, of which 7.5 billion should replenish the Ukrainian budget.
The European Commission has just proposed “
a new macro-financial assistance
” for this year.
It could go up to 9 billion euros.
Its form remains to be determined.
During this G7, the finance ministers will discuss in particular the proportion between loans and direct aid in this new support package.
Aid for reconstruction
Reflections are also underway on aid for reconstruction.
Upon arrival, Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, warned that talks were just beginning.
However, avenues have already been mentioned, such as using Russian assets frozen under Western sanctions.
Hypothesis, warn Berlin and Paris, which would raise many legal obstacles.
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