Insufficient international financial assistance in 2024 will lead to negative economic consequences not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe: Sergii Marchenko for Politico

In an interview with Politico, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko spoke about international support and its role in maintaining macroeconomic stability in Ukraine and across Europe.

"Preservation of financial assistance from the EU and other partners next year is vital. If we do not have enough resources to finance the State Budget deficit, it will lead to negative economic consequences not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe. This situation may lead to higher prices for food and energy, increase the level of poverty and probably increase the number of Ukrainians who will temporarily move to the EU countries", the Minister of Finance said.

Sergii Marchenko stressed that domestic budget revenues are fully allocated to the military campaign, while international donors' funds finance the most urgent social and humanitarian budgetary needs.

"We are ready for discussions with our partners to find practical solutions to speed up the disbursement of financial assistance. We are committed to implementing the necessary structural reforms that have already been identified in cooperation with the EU, the US and the IMF, but we are also open to new discussions. We cannot allow any delay in the assistance," said Sergii Marchenko. 

As of now, there are already assurances from some partners about the continuation of financial assistance in 2024, namely from Japan and the United Kingdom, but the unfunded budgetary needs remain high.