EU leaders finally approved €50 billion in funding for Kyiv until 2027 in early February after Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán had blocked the package in a previous December meeting.
U.S. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has had trouble passing a military aid package to Ukraine through Congress, where it is opposed by a significant share of Republicans.
Renaud-Basso dismissed criticism from some of Ukraine’s supporters that the EU’s aid package is underwhelming compared to the bloc’s seven-year €1.074 trillion budget.
EU leaders must tread a fine line between supporting Ukraine and financing domestic priorities, she said.
“Even if it doesn’t look enormous … compared to the real margin they [EU leaders] have in their budget, to finance additional measures for their people, it’s not an easy trade off,” Renaud-Basso said, adding she faced similar problems at the EBRD.
The development bank increased its capital by €4 billion in order to step up support to Ukraine without cutting back on other programs, Renaud-Basso said. The EBRD has already provided €3.8 billion to Ukraine since the war began in the form of loans, and has committed to increase support when the conflict ends.
The London-based institution axed funding to Russia and Belarus shortly after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The EBRD was set up in 1991 to help former Soviet countries ― including Russia ― transition into market economies, and currently covers 72 countries.
