Mountain panorama: Denys Schmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, Ignazio Cassis, President of Switzerland, Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Ruslan Stefantschuk, President of the Ukrainian Parliament, meet in Lugano.
Image: dpa
While Russia continues to bomb Ukraine, 40 countries are discussing a Marshall Plan for Ukraine in Lugo. There is sharp criticism of Switzerland as the organizer – it allows Russian energy trading.
In Lugano, Switzerland, delegations from nearly 40 countries began consultations on Ukraine’s reconstruction on Monday. The two-day conference aims to draft a sort of Marshall Plan for the country that has been under military attack from Russia since 2014 and on a large scale since last February. At the opening, Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke to the approximately one thousand participants via video link. The President of Ukraine, who has not left the country since the beginning of the war, lamented that 2,100 educational institutions, from kindergartens to universities, had been destroyed in the first four months of the war. 799 medical facilities were also destroyed. “What other war and what other state has seen something like this in such a short time?”
But the war is only part of a whole, it is the “most visible expression of the anti-democratic and anti-European system that is being built in Russia”. Russia as a “terror state” is trying to create or exacerbate problems such as migration, inflation and lack of energy with artificially created crises. The international community should show that “freedom is stronger than any tyranny”. The reconstruction of his country can unite the world and should be carried out with maximum transparency. Selenskyj thanked Great Britain and Denmark, which had already taken on development sponsorships for certain large cities. Since more than a thousand places had already been liberated from the Russian occupation in the spring, construction could already begin in some places. “I invite you all to visit Ukraine, the greatest country in the world, and see our reconstruction.”
Von der Leyen shows great confidence in Ukraine’s potential
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Lugano that reconstruction was a huge challenge, but that it could be mastered. Talking about rebuilding a war-torn country while Russian bombs not only destroyed schools and hospitals, but countless lives as well, may sound overly ambitious. “But we all know by now that nothing is impossible for the brave people of Ukraine. We know the Ukrainians’ immense potential for positive change,” said the Commission President, referring to the Maidan revolution eight years ago. Since that time, the country has made enormous progress in its reforms.
Von der Leyen mentioned the administrative reform, which went hand in hand with functioning decentralization and digitization. This experience will be valuable for the reconstruction of the country. “Because Ukraine will need bold reforms.” But these should go hand in hand with investments. The country must attract more capital from abroad and fight against corruption with determination. Since the beginning of the war, the European Union has provided more than 6 billion euros in financial support. And there will be much more to come. The EU will play a key role in the medium and long-term reconstruction. Von der Leyen reiterated that the EU will set up a platform to coordinate and fund reconstruction work, von der Leyen said. Countries, institutions, the private sector, civil society and international organizations such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank are to come together on this platform.
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