The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is in kyiv, this Thursday, September 15, for her third visit to Ukraine since the start of the war. During this she will discuss the economic state of the country and the country’s integration projects to the EU. She will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Chmygal.
Ukraine has benefited from a rapid procedure for its application to join the European Union, but this is only the beginning of a very long road for the country, which will have to comply in particular with the economic demands of the Commission, which will ensure that Ukraine offers the guarantee of a functioning market economy strong enough to compete within the single market.
The economy resists
Nearly seven months after the start of the war, the Ukrainian economy is holding up well, but it is on life support thanks to international aid. According to the latest score from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, this aid would have reached 84.2 billion euros. If this sum allows the country to stay afloat, the Ukrainian government’s forecasts are dizzying: Ukrainian GDP has fallen by 15.1% in one year, and could drop by 35% to 40% in 2022.
Five billion dollars a month
For his part, the Ukrainian Finance Minister speaks of a need for five billion dollars a month to cover the budget deficit. There is also the cost of reconstruction estimated at 350 billion dollars by the World Bank. Another reason for concern and not the least for Europe: the endemic corruption in Ukraine and the gray economy which has been reinforced with the war.
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