The aggressor must compensate Ukraine for its losses. The process of confiscation of russian assets should be accelerated: Sergii Marchenko during an informal meeting of EU Ministers of Economy and Finance

On April 29, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko took part in a Working session during the Informal Meeting of EU Economic and Financial Ministers and Central Bank Governors (ECOFIN), held in Stockholm in the context of Sweden's presidency of the EU Council.

The ECOFIN meeting was dedicated to discussing Ukraine's recovery and coordinating financial support.

During the session, Sergii Marchenko gave a speech in which he thanked his colleagues from the European Union for their comprehensive support in maintaining the country's stability.

"The scale of the challenges that Ukraine has been experiencing for over a year is unprecedented in its recent history. Nevertheless, we have managed to successfully withstand the shocks and challenges of war thanks to the unity of Ukrainians, the prudent policy of the Government of Ukraine and substantial international support. Today, our financial system is undoubtedly in a better position than a year ago, and the economy is showing a gradual recovery," the Minister of Finance of Ukraine said.

Regarding the budget execution, Sergii Marchenko noted that this year external financing is coming in rhythmically and predictably, and internal budget revenues have increased, which together allows financing State Budget expenditures in a timely manner and in full.

This was largely made possible by the EU large-scale support in Macro-Financial Assistance of EUR 18 billion, which is envisaged for 2023. As well as the new 4-year Extended Fund Facility Arrangement of the IMF in the amount of USD 15.6 billion. Thus, this year, the Government of Ukraine has the opportunity to focus on overcoming the devastating consequences of russia's full-scale armed aggression.

In this context, the Minister of Finance called on partners to join the World Bank's URTF (Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund) and SPURR (Special Program for Ukraine's Recovery and Crisis Response) projects. The WB funds were established to mobilize donor funds for rapid recovery projects.

The Minister of Finance also noted that russia must pay for its horrific actions in Ukraine and drew attention to the issue of strengthening sanctions against russia: "First of all, even taking into account the unprecedented sanctions, they did not have a devastating enough impact on the aggressor's economy as we all expected. We should focus on strengthening the implementation of sanctions and closing loopholes that allow evasion. It is important to impose restrictions on countries that help russia. Secondly, it is necessary to accelerate the development of mechanisms for confiscating russian assets and directing them to rebuild Ukraine. The aggressor must be held accountable for its actions and compensate our country for the losses."

russia is the root cause of the negative impact on the economies of civilized countries. Sergii Marchenko emphasized that only through Ukraine's victory in the war will it be possible to return peace to the European continent and ensure sustainable development of the region. However, this will largely depend on the solidarity of European countries and the support they provide to Ukraine.