EU ambassador to Ukraine hopes change of leadership at Defence Ministry will not slow arrival of European aid
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová has expressed hope that the change of leadership at Ukraine's Ministry of Defence will not affect the pace at which European funding for Ukraine's defence needs arrives.
Source: Mathernová in an interview with Ukrainian Radio, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Mathernová was asked for her opinion on the government crisis in Ukraine and the uncertainty over the Defence Ministry's leadership following Mykhailo Fedorov's dismissal.
The ambassador replied that it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the personnel decisions of Ukraine's government leadership. She added that, regarding Fedorov, she had expressed – also on behalf of her colleagues in Brussels – regret that he and his closest team had been replaced.
Mathernová also explained that it was precisely with this team that EU officials had been working on the technical details of providing financial support for Ukraine's defence needs.
She said that the €60 billion programme to support Ukraine's military efforts is the first instance in history of the EU budget being used for military purposes. The ambassador explained that, since the EU is a large bureaucratic system, a considerable number of procedures, mechanisms and documentation had needed to be created from scratch, and that this was exactly what they had been working on together with then minister Fedorov and his team.
Mathernová added that European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, who is responsible for defence matters and the implementation of the €60 billion package, had just been in Kyiv, and that they had held many working discussions. She said that they will now need to start everything again with a new team, and that she very much hopes this would not lead to major delays in funding.
Background: Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, commenting on Fedorov's dismissal, noted that it will raise questions within the EU as to why such an expert is being replaced.
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