Details of EU-US "prosperity plan" deal for Ukraine revealed – Politico

Politico has published details of a draft agreement between the EU and the United States on an US$800 billion "prosperity plan" for Ukraine.

Source: a document obtained by Politico, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The 18-page draft sets out a 10-year plan for Ukraine's recovery and includes an accelerated path towards EU membership.

The document is described as the same paper the European Commission sent to EU member state capitals ahead of the summit on Thursday 22 January where it was discussed, three European officials and diplomats said on condition of anonymity.

The funding strategy runs until 2040 and also refers to a "100-day operational plan" to launch the project.

A key challenge remains the difficulty of attracting external investment into Ukraine until the war ends in a "reliable" way, which the document suggests is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

The "prosperity plan" was developed as an extension of an idea from a "20-point plan" drafted on the basis of Donald Trump's initial "peace plan".

The US is set to play a "prominent role" in Ukraine's recovery but the document frames Washington not as a donor of resources but as a "strategic economic partner, investor and credibility anchor".

The draft envisages the EU, the United States and international financial institutions – including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank – investing US$500 billion in public and private capital in Ukraine over the next 10 years.

The European Commission plans to add a further €100 billion through budget support and investment guarantees within the EU's seven-year budget framework after 2028. This funding is expected to unlock investment worth €207 billion.

The US plans to channel capital for reconstruction through a US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, though no figures are provided.

The document says that Washington wants to invest in the extraction of critical minerals, infrastructure, energy and technology.

Background:

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU and the United States are close to an agreement on a "prosperity plan" for Ukraine, which is based on five pillars: productivity, Ukraine's integration into the EU market, investment, strengthening donor coordination and reforms.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that EU leaders at an EU summit were presented with a confidential European Commission document that envisages Ukraine joining the European Union by 2027 and that no Hungarian parliament over the next hundred years would ever vote for Ukraine's membership of the EU.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is overstating his ability to block Ukraine's European future.

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