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European leaders meet to discuss Ukraine’s reconstruction

The European Union will set up a reconstruction platform to coordinate the rebuilding of Ukraine after its war with Russia, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday during the first day of the two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference held in the Swiss town of Lugano. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal represented Ukraine, and Ukraine’s President addressed the Conference via a video link.

“Since the beginning of the war, the European Union has mobilised around EUR 6.2 billion in financial support,” von der Leyen said. “And… more will come. We will engage substantially in the mid-and long-term reconstruction.”

According to Ms von der Leyen, the platform will be used to map investment needs, coordinate action, and channel resources. The platform will bring together countries, institutions, the private sector, and civil society. Such international organisations as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank are also going to be involved. The latter institution, which serves as the lending arm of the European Union, is proposing a funding structure previously used during the COVID-19 pandemic to help rebuild Ukraine with up to EUR 100 bn of investment.

“Through the reconstruction platform, the European Commission can offer its extensive expertise in running programs that combine reform and investments,” von der Leyen said.
“In addition, we have been working closely with Ukraine for a long time. And this work will only intensify now that Ukraine has formally become a candidate to join our Union.” The EC President also added that Europe has a special responsibility and a strategic interest to be at Ukraine’s side.

“The Kremlin’s goal is the military, political and economic destruction of Ukraine,” said President von der Leyen. “They want to undermine Ukraine’s very existence as a state. We cannot and we will not let this happen.”

Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal, who represented his country in Lugano, addressed the assembled. “Today, the direct infrastructure losses of Ukraine stand at over $100 billion,” he said. “Who will pay for the renewal plan, which is already being valued at $750 billion?” As PM Shmyhal responded to his own question, by stating that his government believes the key source of funding for the recovery plan should be assets confiscated from Russian oligarchs. He also announced the establishment of Recovery Offices, which will be which will assist the reconstruction effort on regional levels.

During #URC2022 we announced the establishment of ?? Recovery Offices in #Washington, #Brussels, #London and other cities.

The central office will be in #Kyiv.

Grateful to all our partners for their support and solidarity! Let's rebuild #Ukraine together! pic.twitter.com/mmClzzikVt

— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) July 4, 2022

President Zelenskyy’s address

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the assembled at the conference via a video link. In his assessment, the conference and its outcome can be “the first big step toward a historical victory of the democratic world”.

As Mr Zelenskyy stated, the Russian invasion of his country is more than just an attempt to destroy Ukrainian statehood, but also an “ideological confrontation” and an attempt to show that Europe is weak and incapable of defending its values. “The anti-democratic and anti-European system built in Russia is trying to show that it is supposedly stronger than all of us: Ukraine, Europe, and the democratic world.”

President Zelenskyy said that Russia is testing the democratic world by causing numerous global crises. “Inflation, food, energy, migration” are all crises engineered by Russia. Therefore:

“This is not just our war, it is not local, somewhere in the east of Europe. This is Russia’s attack on everything that for us is a value,” said the Ukrainian head of state. “That is why rebuilding Ukraine is not just a local project, a project of one nation, but a joint task of the entire democratic world, of all those countries, that can call themselves civilised.”

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