The key facts

  • The EU's financial capacity to aid Ukraine, according to the expert, has reached its limit
  • The debt of France and Italy exceeds 100% of GDP
  • It was previously reported that EU debt for supporting Kyiv could rise above €200 billion

The limit of financial capacity

The European Union's financial capacity for further aid to Ukraine has reached its limit, yet political priorities, in the view of Pravda.Ru's interlocutor, turn out to be more important than economic considerations. This assessment was given in a conversation with the publication by Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor Alexei Podberezkin.

Debt burden and political will

According to Podberezkin, most member countries of the union have long exceeded external debt norms: the figures for France and Italy have surpassed 100% of GDP. Despite the debt burden, European governments may continue to raise funds to support Kyiv. The decision on further spending, the expert believes, will depend primarily on political will: breaching the established fiscal benchmarks has not been sufficient grounds for EU leadership to abandon new commitments.

Likelihood of repayment

Aid to Ukraine in the form of loans, in Podberezkin's assessment, is unlikely to be repaid in full, and the actual losses may fall on future taxpayers. An additional burden on the European economy, in his view, is created by the union's enlargement and the regular allocation of new tranches.

Context of earlier reports

These assessments align with earlier publications by Gazeta.Ru: it was previously reported that the combined debt of EU countries linked to financial support for Kyiv could in the future exceed €200 billion, as well as about disagreements within the EU over the need to find funds for a loan to Ukraine. It should be emphasized that the figures and assessments cited are the position of the expert and earlier media reports, not a confirmed decision by EU institutions; the final parameters of further financing were not named in the sources.