Photo from UNIAN
The so-called Marshall Plan for Ukraine should now be called the "European Plan", Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius has told 112 Ukraine TV channel following the presentation of the plan in the Lithuanian Seimas for the ambassadors of the United States, Canada, Japan, and EU member states.
"We no longer call this plan the"Marshall Plan", because associations remain with another plan at another period and for other reasons ... Instead, we call it the ‘European Plan’ for Ukraine," Linkevicius told 112 Ukraine.
He added that it is not just about the funds that are supposed to be allocated for Ukraine, it is also about the assistance that is already being implemented and requires streamlining for its effective use.
"We are looking at the process in its entirety in order to unite the efforts of all these financial organizations, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Each organization has its own work experience in Ukraine, and this assistance that is being provided is conditional, since it proceeds from reforms and transparency. And also it all depends on success in the fight against corruption," said Linkevicius.
He also noted that "the provision of assistance depends on the administrative capacity in Ukraine itself to streamline the process so that it casts no doubts on its transparency."
In this regard, the diplomat stressed the need to create in Ukraine a certain structure of project management, which will be financed by international institutions, to ensure the effective use of the assistance provided.
According to Linkevicius, such a structure should raise the level of donor confidence in Ukraine in terms of what the funds allocated are used for.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister added that this plan implies not only financial assistance, but also "essentially bringing Ukraine closer to the European Union in all possible, say, criteria, despite the fact that, as we know, politically, it is not very easy to provide this European perspective."
As UNIAN reported earlier, at the end of March 2017 the Congress of the European People's Party adopted a resolution on the development of a long-term plan for supporting Ukraine - the so-called "Marshall Plan" for Ukraine. In June, the presentation of the "Marshall Plan" for Ukraine was held at the Lithuanian Delegation to the EU. Members of the working group on the document development, former Prime Ministers of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius and Gediminas Kirkilas took part.
On August 18, Ukraine's Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv said the New European Plan for Ukraine provided for at least EUR 5 billion in annual support from the European Union for the implementation of reforms aimed at the country's economic growth and development.
According to Kubiv, the plan is now being actively discussed by key international institutions with the aim of forming a "group of friends" of Ukraine and ensuring the required support for its implementation.