During an online meeting of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) working group on Wednesday 30 March, Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Lviv, called for the EU to provide a €500 million credit line for 25 years at a “symbolic rate” to support Ukraine’s reconstruction needs.
Sadovyi told CoR members that his city was “perhaps the largest centre in the world” for refugees, estimating their number in the city at 200,000 at present. For example, the city has set aside more than one million hectares for new accommodation, he explained.
The mayor also urged Europeans to fully isolate Russia on the international stage, a call that was backed by Vitaly Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv. He expressed his incomprehension of the EU’s timid stance on trade links with Russia. “Every cent that you send to the Russian Federation…, this money has blood”, he said.
The working group also called for the development of a reconstruction plan for Ukraine, adding that the prospect of Ukraine becoming a potential candidate country should be part of this plan. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)