Fittex
EU and Ukraine: Potential for stronger energy cooperation on the path to integration
Ukraine is the second largest country on the European continent after Russia. Its oil, coal and gas reserves, as well as its geostrategic position, ensured its important role in energy trade, both during the Soviet Union and after its collapse. However, Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine (since 2014), followed by a full-scale war of aggression against the country, have had severe human and economic impacts. In the energy area, for example, Russia's strategy has been to weaponise (e.g. the occupation ...
Future of European defence
Significant progress in bolstering EU defence has been made in recent years. However, the shift in United States (US) policy on Ukraine has prompted European leaders to convene several times, to coordinate their response. ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ is due to discuss the future of European defence during the March plenary session.
Outcome of the European Council video-conference call of 26 February 2025
On 26 February 2025, the EU held a video-conference call to prepare for the upcoming special European Council meeting on 6 March 2025, dedicated to EU defence and Ukraine. They were briefed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, on his recent visit to Washington and his talks with United States President Donald Trump.
Displaced Ukrainians: Challenges and outlook for integration in the EU
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 forced millions of people to flee Ukraine. To date, approximately 6.8°million people have had to seek refuge, mostly in the EU and its neighbourhood. The EU responded rapidly in March 2022, activating the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) for the first time ever. The TPD's emergency mechanism offers swift protection and rights to those in need who arrive in large numbers, preventing Member States' asylum systems from becoming overwhelmed. Rights ...
Russia's war on Ukraine: Forcibly displaced Ukrainian children
The invasion of Ukraine enters its 4th year in 2025, resulting in further displacement. On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights. The pair are accused of the 'war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation'. ...
The Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and exceptional macro-financial assistance
Since the start of the Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has provided Ukraine with financial, military and humanitarian support on an unprecedented level, including macro-financial assistance, financial support via the Ukraine Facility, humanitarian aid and military assistance from its Member States and through the European Peace Facility. Regulation (EU) 2024/2773 provides for a new macro-financial assistance loan for Ukraine and establishes a Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism ...
Study in Focus: EU contingent financial liabilities
The original full study tracks the evolution of EU contingent liabilities. Contingent liabilities for the EU budget have grown considerably in their magnitude and complexity and will continue to increase under the MFF 2021-2027. We explain the risks they might impose on the EU budget and analyse risk management practices to address them. We forecast total contingent liabilities will more than double by 2027, reaching EUR 612 billion. This increase will be driven mainly by RRF loans and to a lesser ...
Reinforcing Europe's defence industry
Russia's war on Ukraine has laid bare the challenges facing the European defence industry as it tries to meet increased demand and ramp up production in the wake of a fundamentally changed security environment in Europe. Europe's defence industry comprises a number of large multinational companies, mid-caps and over 2 000 small and medium-sized enterprises. It faces a multitude of challenges, such as decades of under-investment, fragmentation, insufficient critical raw material and semiconductor ...
IMF Lending to Ukraine: State of Play and the Road Ahead
This paper provides an overview of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s lending to Ukraine, particularly focusing on the IMF response to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since February 2022, given the challenging macroeconomic circumstances. If further analyses the key elements of the IMF’ Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme for Ukraine, including the evolution of core assumptions, risks, fiscal sustainability and conditionality.
Establishing the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine
The EU will provide a new macro-financial assistance (MFA) loan of up to €35 billion to Ukraine as part of a G7 initiative to support Ukraine with a loan of up to US$50 billion (€45 billion). The new Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism will provide revenues originating from immobilised Russian sovereign assets, so that Ukraine can service and repay loans from the EU and other G7 lenders. ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ is expected to adopt the proposal during its October II plenary sitting.