The possibility of the European Union launching a “Marshall Plan” plan for Ukraine was a dominant theme at the 10th annual Kyiv Security Forum on April 6 and 7th.
In an opening keynote speech on day one in which he called for European solidarity in the face on an aggressive Russia, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko made an appeal for just such a step. He said while recent shows of support from the international community are welcome developments — such as the April 6 vote by the European Parliament to waive visas for Ukrainians- still more needs to be done.
“It is in the best interests of my country, it is in the best interests of the European Union and of the free world,” Poroshenko told the forum.
“We all know the famous label for the European recovery supplied by the United States. Today we need a similar label for Ukraine, a Ukrainian recovery supplied by the united, free world. I will say it over and over again: Ukraine needs its own Marshall Plan.”
But the possibility of such a major cash injection from Europe was brought into question by Taavi Roivas, Estonia’s prime minister from 2014 to 2016 and the country’s current parliamentary vice president.
During a panel discussion on day two he said any sort of Marshall Plan for Ukraine would depend on the E.U. being convinced that the Ukrainian authorities are capable of delivering reforms.
But in an interview with the Kyiv Post on the sidelines, he stressed that the challenges currently facing Ukraine, such as corruption and weak rule of law, should not be taken as reasons for the West not to act.
“I think the E.U. and European countries should not be deterred by the fact that there is still corruption in Ukrainian society,” Roivas said. “That’s obviously the case. We should point it out openly and we should continue helping Ukraine. But we should not make it an excuse not to help.”
However in a Europe currently grappling with Brexit and a rising wave of populism and with national elections coming up in France and Germany, support for Ukraine appears to have fallen down the list of priorities. Rovias believes letting Ukraine’s European ambitions slip off the agenda would be a mistake.
“The ‘old E.U.’ benefitted a lot from the Baltic countries and Poland becoming members,” he said. “Of course it was a big benefit to those countries too but it was of benefit to the West because creating a much bigger, prosperous area is in everyone’s interests. So I think the EU should be as interested in the success of Ukraine as Ukraine itself is.”
Since Ukraine’s EuroMaidan Revolution of 2013-2014, which sent pro-Kremiln President Viktor Yanukovych in Russian exile, the E.U. has provided the country with billions of euros in grants and loans and remains its leading international donor.
In recent days Ukraine has succeeded in securing both a fourth loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund worth $1 billion and 600 million euros in macro-financial assistance from the E.U. In March the E.U. renewed sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea.
The measures are due to stay in place until at least September.
