EU rejects Kiev’s request to allocate additional 27 billion euros — Bloomberg
European sources also told the news agency that the EU would not speed up payments as part of the 90-billion-euro loan
BRUSSELS, October 2. /TASS/. The European Union has turned down Kiev’s request for additional 27 billion euros, including by speeding up payments as part of the 90-billion-euro loan, Bloomberg reported citing European sources.
The agency said the European Union demanded that Ukraine continued its reforms, tied to the phased release of the first 45 billion euros, due to be allocated under this program later this year. It made it clear that the disbursements will not be expedited.
Earlier this week, a large Ukrainian delegation that included Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko, government officials and defense industry delegates, visited Brussels. Behind closed doors, they negotiated with EU officials in an attempt to secure additional funding for the Kiev government.
A brief formal joint statement was issued after the consultations, but it made no mention of any fresh payments.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky earlier told reporters that this year’s deficit in his country’s defense budget amounts to at least $27 billion, Politico reported.