May 10, 2022 06:32AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
The European Commission is considering a new joint bond issue by 27 countries to cover Ukraine's liquidity shortfall of 15 billion euros ($15.9 billion) over the next three months, according to two EU officials.
The commission's proposal is due to be made public on May 18, an EU official said. The new joint EU loan, if approved, could be based on the EU's SURE system for financing unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
This would mean that Ukraine would get very cheap loans from the EU and EU governments would have to provide guarantees for the repayment of the joint borrowing.
"This is one of the models under consideration, but nothing has been decided yet," a senior EU official said.
The EU hopes the United States will join the effort and provide about 5 billion euros, so the EU would have to raise about 10 billion euros through joint borrowing, officials said.
The idea will be discussed at the Group of Seven finance ministers' meeting in Bonn on May 18-20, the officials said.