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has a vested interest in seeing the EU budget passed - because "Hungary is also interested in more money to protect its borders."
EU provides additional $118 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The EU is providing an additional 100 million euros ($107.2 million) for humanitarian aid operations in Ukraine and 10 million euros ($10.7 million) to support Ukrainian refugees and their hosting in Moldova, the European Commission announced in a press release on Nov. 14.
The Netherlands will allocate €2.5B in aid to Ukraine next year. The head of the country's foreign affairs, Hanke Bruins Slot, said: "The Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine by all possible means for as long as it takes.”
• IFI Aid
The World Bank supplies $400 M for the Ukrainian budget, and the EBRD provides €200M for gas purchases on November 23. The state budget of Ukraine receiveda $400M loan under Great Britain’s guarantee through the World Bank Trust Fund. The funds are part of the fifth financing round of the PEACE in Ukraine project. The money will be used for pension payments and salaries for medical workers. The loan is provided on preferential terms: the repayment period is 19 years with a 5-year grace period. The total financial aid from the UK since February 2022 has now reached $2B. In addition, Naftogaz of Ukraine and the EBRD signed a loan agreement to acquire €200M to strengthen Ukraine’s energy security. The funds will help Naftogaz to create strategic gas reserves during the heating season. Last year, Naftogaz received a €300M loan for these purposes as part of a €500M donor support package, including a grant from Norway. The credit agreement will enter into force after the issuing of the state guarantee.
The Board of Directors of the World Bank made the decision to approve the extension of a $1.2bn loan to Ukraine, the World Bank’s press service said on December 1. Money will be allocated to support 29 social aid programs for "the most vulnerable people in Ukraine" under the project of Investing in Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, and Efficiency (INSPIRE).
Ukraine is getting closer to receiving another tranche of $900M from the IMF. Ukraine and the IMF reached agreement on the second review of the program under the EFF Extended Financing Facility. The IMF noted the progress in meeting program requirements and commitment to reform.
IMF loans have turned out to be the most expensive for Ukraine. As of October 2023, the average cost of servicing all loans granted to Ukraine by external official creditors is about 2.1% per annum, said former NBU executive Bohdan Danylyshyn. According to him, IMF loans are the most expensive borrowings taken by Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Their maintenance in 2023 will cost about 8% per annum. For comparison, the loan from France in November 2022 has a fixed yield of 1.04% per annum, the loan from Japan in June 2022 - 1%, and the loan from Canada in April 2023 - 1.5%. However, the IMF's share in helping Ukraine is small. In 2023, Ukraine received two tranches, of $2.7B and $890M, from the fund and expects a new tranche of $900M. In the second half of 2024, Ukraine must return $1.925B to the IMF, of which $408M is interest. The cost of IMF loans is increasing due to the increase in interest rates by the world's central banks.
73 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com