Macron: The European Union will allocate "hundreds of billions of euros" to Ukraine

The European Union at an extraordinary summit on Thursday, March 6, will consider providing Ukraine with a large-scale package of financial assistance, French President Emmanuel Macron told the La Tribune newspaper.

At the summit, the leaders will also discuss the creation of a European security architecture.

"The purpose of this meeting is to strengthen support for Ukraine and provide the European Commission with a mandate to launch large—scale and general funding as soon as possible, since our security is at stake. …This large—scale financing will probably amount to hundreds of billions of euros," he said.

The French leader admitted that the implementation of such a project will take years, so Europe needs to do everything to maintain US support. According to Macron, after Donald Trump's return to the White House, times have changed a lot, "so this March 6 summit is very important."

"Many European countries have built their security on transatlantic ties. We need to return to the old European habits. It's already a quarter to midnight, but the advantage is still on our side," he is sure.

Midnight symbolizes a global catastrophe on the Doomsday clock, which is maintained by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

On February 19, Politico reported that the EU is preparing the largest package of military assistance to Ukraine, which will include "everything" from artillery shells to air defense systems. Its size was estimated at € 6-10 billion. Later, the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Callas, announced the dispatch of new military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of up to € 20 billion. According to the publication, the initiative is not supported by Italy, Portugal and Spain, they want to The EU found another financing solution (for example, issued special Eurobonds) or showed "financial flexibility" by excluding defense spending when calculating the national budget deficit.

Discussion of support for Ukraine in European countries intensified after the altercation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky at the White House on February 28. After the scandal, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on the threat of termination of assistance to Kiev from Washington.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, commenting on the incident, said that "a new era of shame has begun" and there can be no doubt "who is the perpetrator and who is the victim." She called on the Bundestag to make a decision on the € 3 billion aid package to Kiev, which was blocked by Chancellor Olaf Scholz amid the situation with the German budget.