Heads of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Italy discussed budget support for Ukraine in 2025

On 9 October, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti. The meeting was held in the framework of the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Ukraine Donor Platform in Rome, Italy.

The parties summarised the results of the 11th meeting of the Ukraine Donor Platform Steering Committee. This time, the focus was on the draft State Budget 2025, securing the necessary resources for Ukraine next year, and implementing the Public Investment Management (PIM) reform.

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine noted Giancarlo Giorgetti's personal contribution to the support of Ukraine and thanked the Government and citizens of Italy for their aid since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. 

“Italy's comprehensive assistance, together with the advocacy of Ukraine's interests in the international arena, especially during Italy's G7 presidency, has made a powerful contribution to Ukraine's ability to resist the enemy. I am grateful for the understanding of our needs and I am convinced that further cooperation in the programmes implemented with the G7 and the EU will help ensure macro-financial stability, economic development and recovery of our country,” said Sergii Marchenko. 

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Italy has provided Ukraine with more than EUR 320 million in direct budget support.

Italy also played a significant role in launching the EU's Ukraine Facility for 2024-2027. In this context, they discussed Ukraine's implementation of the conditions set out in the Ukraine Plan. By the end of this year, Ukraine may receive EUR 4 billion, provided that all indicators are met by the end of the third quarter. 

Recently, the European Commission announced a proposal to provide Ukraine with macro-financial assistance (MFA) of up to EUR 35 billion for 2024-2025, to be repaid exclusively from future earnings on frozen russian sovereign assets in the EU.  This decision is part of the G7's ERA initiative. The proposal has already been supported by EU countries and agreed by the EU Council.

"We appreciate the active position of the EU countries, in particular Italy, in finding mechanisms to channel the immobilised russian assets to Ukraine. These funds should become a contribution to meeting the priority military and social needs. The aggressor country must pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. The use of profits is one of the ways to do this”, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine added. 

The frozen assets of the russian central bank in the EU amount to EUR 210 billion and constitute the majority of such frozen assets worldwide. Depending on the level of interest rates, the income from these assets is currently estimated at EUR 2.5-3 billion per year. 

Sergii Marchenko also thanked the Government of Italy for its decision to host the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2025.