The United States pledged at least €73 billion in support (military, humanitarian and financial) from January 2022 said IfW. Meanwhile, for all EU countries as a whole, it is EUR 54.9 billion.
– The Americans are setting the pace in favor of Ukraine, Europe is following them hesitantly – emphasized IfW expert Christoph Trebesch.
In particular, German assistance was arguably not very impressive. The aid pledge from Berlin totaled €6.15 billion.
– This is a large amount, but comparable to what the German government allocates for discounts on fuel for consumers or subsidies for tickets costing 9 euros – said Trebesch. A multiple of this amount (EUR 34.5 billion) was allocated by Germany to save energy trading group Uniper, while the subsidies announced to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis on consumers and companies amounted to EUR 250 billion, said Trebesch.
“Also, energy packages in the rest of the EU countries are on average 10 times higher than aid for Ukraine,” added Trebesch, who considered the hesitancy of Europeans in the first year of the war a “shocking phenomenon.” In addition, aid pledges to Ukraine have been erratic – falling sharply in the summer months, hitting new highs only in November and December.
In their study, experts from Kiel pointed out that this “irregular” aid, especially when it comes to European countries, greatly hinders the proper planning of activities by the government in Kiev.
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