A “Plan Marshall” for Ukraine

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyeen and Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz seek a “Plan International Marshall of the 21” for the reconstruction of Ukraine. We're dealing with a generation “that should start now”, they write in a joint article for the newspaper “Frankfurter Allgeene Zeitung”. “Building destroyed dwellings, schools, roads, bridges, infrastructure and power supply network all of these must start now so that the country can recover quickly.” Ukraine needs a perspective so that it can recover economically after the end of the war.

With the US Marshall Plan in 1948 and 1952, billions of dollars financed the reconstruction of Germany and other countries of Europe.

Long term will be important, for even private donors and enterprises to invest in the reconstruction of Ukraine, Scholz and von der Leyen writes. The EU has a particular role in this direction, because Ukraine is a candidate country for membership: the “road to reconstruction is also Ukraine's path to the European Union. ”

Always von der Leenen and Scholz stress: “Ukraine's support is not only right, but it's also in our interest.” Because Ukraine does not fight for its own sovereignty: “Ukraine also advocates rules-based international order, the basis of our peaceful coexistence and global prosperity. ”

Experts are compile the “Rebuid Ukraine” file

The German economy, meanwhile, has begun plans to rebuild Ukraine after the war. At the initiative of the German Commission for the East of the German Economy (OA) 50 experts have compiled a document with detailed proposals and bids, notes Germany's editorial network “Editationsnetzwerk Deutschland” (RND). “We need to provide immediate assistance to infrastructure and power supply, but we also need to think about the future”, said OA Executive Director Michael Harms.

In the file “Recild Ukraine” under the RND is recommended that European and EU countries take part in the reconstruction, appointing a high-level co-ordinator for Ukraine, respectively. This should create a council that with the Ukrainian government would consult current needs and projects. Each donor country must monitor its own financed projects to ensure transparency and legal responsibility.

“Populsia must soon see the result of the reconstruction of the destroyed”, Harms said. “at the same time should become the basis for sustainable economic growth. ” This means, in the first place, to take advantage of the giant development potential Ukraine has in digitization, agriculture and by relying on building an economy without carbon dioxide.

Scholz and Schmyhal open the Economic Forum

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denies Schmyhal opened the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin on Monday (24.10). This is the first library activity of this kind since the beginning of the Russian offensive war. At the center of the consultations are assistance to the Ukrainian economy. One point is the Ukrainian energy sector, which has recently hit Russian forces deliberately.

Scholz and Shmyhal within this forum also meet for bilateral talks concerning German aid to Ukraine and reconstruction of the country. On Tuesday (25.10) there is an international expert conference on reconstruction of Ukraine, at the invitation of the German presidency of the G7 Group. /dw