Two decisions in the first quarter of 2024 changed the money and the map around the war in Ukraine. On February 28, the Council of the European Union approved the Ukraine Facility, €50 billion over four years. On March 7, Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO.
The EU package
The Council’s vote was the last step in revising the EU’s medium-term budget through 2027, Euromaidan Press reported. The European Parliament had endorsed the package a day earlier, on February 27. Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance said the changes would take effect within days of publication in the EU’s Official Journal.
Money flows under “jointly agreed plans and priorities” negotiated between Kyiv and the European Commission. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said disbursements would start in March 2024, and Ukraine confirmed a first tranche of €4.5 billion the following month. The aid is meant to steady Ukraine’s economy during the war and to support its path toward EU membership, which has required reforms such as anti-corruption legislation and tighter financial monitoring.
Sweden’s accession
Sweden applied nearly two years earlier, after Russia’s invasion, along with Finland. The two countries dropped their long-standing non-alignment in 2022. Finland got in during April 2023. Sweden was held up by Turkey and Hungary: Turkey ratified in January 2024, Hungary gave final approval on March 5.
The formal admission came on March 7, when Hungarian officials submitted their approval and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued the invitation. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson then handed Sweden’s instruments of accession to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole Alliance more secure,” Stoltenberg said. The outlet noted the step ended more than 200 years of Swedish neutrality and left Russia bordering multiple alliance members around the Baltic.
Moscow’s reaction was thin on detail. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova threatened consequences without naming any. Putin had earlier warned that Finland would face “problems” as a NATO member.
Ukraine’s own path into the alliance stays uncertain while the full-scale war goes on, the Kyiv Independent wrote. It also cited alliance commanders who have warned in recent months of a risk of wider conflict within the next five to twenty years.
Sources
- EU Council finalizes €50 billion financial assistance plan for Ukraine (Euromaidan Press)
- Sweden Officially Joins NATO (Kyiv Independent)
