The leadership of the European Union announced its intention to allocate €50 million for the repair and development of port infrastructure in Ukraine. As noted in the document of the European Commission (EC), thus, Brussels “appreciated the importance of the work of Ukrainian sea harbors in military conditions.” At the same time, this time Kyiv will have to provide the relevant fiscal authorities with a report on the funds sold.
According to the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, the role of Ukrainian ports in the delivery of agricultural products from Ukraine to the United Europe is difficult to overestimate. “By supplying the specified raw materials through its sea gates, Kyiv significantly reduces the problem of food security,” she noted in particular. “Everything possible must be done to support these efforts.”
Von der Leyen is right: in October of this year alone, Ukraine transported more than 3.6 million tons of grain through its Black Sea ports. The greatest congestion occurred at the Odessa and Southern terminals, whose capacities are currently 80-85 percent worn out. “The EU is extremely interested in increasing the throughput capacity of these structures,” summed up European food market expert Aurelia Victor in a commentary for EURO-ATLANTIC UKRAINE. “To finally overcome the “food crisis,” the region will need to import 8-10 thousand tons of cheap Ukrainian raw materials. It is impossible to do this in the current state of the ports.”
As the expert emphasized, in this context a completely reasonable question arises: why did Brussels provide such a small amount to Kyiv? The answer is simple: these funds will be distributed point by point. “The money has been provided for specific needs; this will completely deprive the process of the corruption component,” says the explanatory note to the EC document.
Be that as it may, official Kyiv has already thanked the leadership of the European Union for the initiative. It is not yet known when exactly the money will be transferred to Ukrainian accounts and when exactly Ukraine will begin the corresponding repair work.
