Economic effect of “solidarity corridors” with Ukraine amounted to 125 billion euros last year, – von der Leyen

The economic effect of the “solidarity corridors” on the borders with Ukraine during 2023 amounted to 125bn euros. This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the Munich Security Conference.

“We are doing everything possible to preserve the capacity of the Ukrainian economy (in the conditions of war – ed.). When exports from Ukraine were blocked, we opened so-called solidarity corridors. Last year, thanks to these corridors, we managed to increase the turnover to 125 billion euros through trade between Ukraine, the EU and third countries,” von der Leyen said.

She emphasized that the EU supports Ukraine in all available ways. In particular, the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia have proved their effectiveness, they deeply affect the Russian economy, which has been put on military rails.

According to von der Leyen, sanctions are never static. When the EU imposes them, the targeted country tries to circumvent them. The EU closes the gaps, and then the targeted country tries again to find ways to get past the restrictive measures.

“Now we are targeting those countries that have significantly increased imports from the EU, after which these goods from third countries enter Russia. We are very firm with them and very clear about what the consequences could be. We are imposing sanctions against the companies, institutions and individuals concerned. The next package of sanctions that is on the table is largely aimed at this. We must be tough and persistent to close all the gaps step by step,” said the president of the European Commission.

She recalled that the EU made the first step to use accruals on the Russian sovereign assets blocked in Europe. These revenues can be used in Ukraine’s interests, for example, to buy weapons or in the process of rebuilding the country.

Tags: Ukraine, export, EU