The Council of the EU on Monday approved an extra €3.5 billion (approximately $3.8 billion) in financial support for Ukraine, consisting of non-repayable grants and loans, according to a press release from the European Council.
The funding, part of the Ukraine Facility, aims to bolster Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and support its long-term recovery, reconstruction, and modernization. This marks the third disbursement under the facility, which has already provided close to €20 billion to Ukraine since it was launched a year ago.
In its statement, the Council noted that Ukraine had met the necessary conditions laid out in the Ukraine Plan to receive the third payment. The Ukraine Plan outlines the country’s roadmap for recovery and reform, including a timetable for the reforms it intends to undertake as part of its EU accession process over the next four years.
Among the 13 benchmarks that Ukraine has successfully demonstrated progress on are passing reforms to increase renewable energy usage, boosting the autonomy of its energy regulator, and simplifying border-crossing procedures to meet EU standards. Additionally, Ukraine has developed strategies for agriculture and rural development—including initiatives to clear land mines from agricultural areas—and is advancing efforts to list its strategic and critical raw materials.
The Ukraine Facility, which came into force on March 1, 2024, is designed to provide up to €50 billion of stable financing in grants and loans through 2027, aiming to support Ukraine’s structural reforms and economic modernization.
The additional aid is expected to further strengthen Ukraine’s financial stability and accelerate its transformation process, reinforcing the EU’s commitment to supporting the country’s integration into European structures.
EU Council has extended the restrictive measures targeting those responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine for another six months, until 15 September 2025.
The interim government in Damascus will attend an international conference on Monday in Brussels to seek aid pledges for Syria, which continues to face significant humanitarian challenges and an uncertain political future following the departure of Bashar al-Assad.
The European Union and the United States still face significant challenges in resolving trade tensions, with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis stressing the need for further negotiations on key issues like tariffs, subsidies, and market access.
The EU is considering doubling military aid to Ukraine to €40B in 2025, with contributions based on economic weight. A proposal by the EEAS suggests an initial step of providing 2M artillery rounds and using profits from frozen Russian assets to fund aid.
European Union leaders announced a 4.7 billion euro ($5.10 billion) investment package during a visit to South Africa on Thursday, at a time when both are on worse terms with the United States than they have been for decades.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, led by Representative Jim Jordan, has issued subpoenas to 16 tech companies involved in artificial intelligence to probe allegations that the Biden administration pressured private firms to moderate content, curb "harmful bias,"
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran will be held responsible and face "dire" consequences for any further attacks by Yemen's Houthis.
Users on social media have uncovered a controversial use case for Google’s new Gemini 2.0 Flash model, which appears capable of removing watermarks from images—often from prominent sources such as Getty Images and other major stock media providers.
Chinese search engine giant Baidu has launched two updated AI models—Ernie 4.5 and Ernie X1—in a bid to bolster its competitive edge in the artificial intelligence market.
China has defended its recent military exercises near Taiwan as a punitive response to what it calls the island’s president’s continued promotion of separatism.
The inside of a Herculaneum delicate & ancient scroll, unseen for nearly 2,000 years, has been revealed using Artificial Intelligence.
World leaders welcomed the 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has agreed to, calling it a step toward ending the conflict with Russia.
President Donald Trump has vowed to respond to the European Union's counter-tariffs, escalating tensions over the U.S. steel and aluminum duties that have sparked a trade dispute between the two economic powers.
Regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan process, we cannot forget the years of occupation, and we will not forget them, President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 12th Global Baku Forum.
In Tuesday’s closely watched parliamentary election, Greenland’s pro-business opposition Demokraatit party took a commanding lead after over 90% of the ballots were counted.
U.S. homebuilder sentiment fell to its lowest level in seven months in March, as rising tariffs on imported materials have driven up construction costs, according to the latest survey from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo.
U.S. retail sales in February edged up by 0.2% as consumers pulled back on discretionary spending, signaling cautious optimism amid a broader economic backdrop marked by tariffs and federal workforce cuts.
PepsiCo said on Monday it would acquire prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion, as part of its push into the healthier soda category amid falling demand for its traditional beverages and snacks.
Barcelona’s postponed LaLiga clash with Osasuna will take place on March 27, following the death of the club’s doctor. However, with key players unavailable due to World Cup qualifiers, Barcelona is considering appealing the decision by the Spanish soccer federation.
OpenAI is urging the Trump administration to grant AI companies an exemption that would allow them to train their models on copyrighted material—a move it argues is crucial for maintaining America's leadership in artificial intelligence.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, led by Representative Jim Jordan, has issued subpoenas to 16 tech companies involved in artificial intelligence to probe allegations that the Biden administration pressured private firms to moderate content, curb "harmful bias,"
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran will be held responsible and face "dire" consequences for any further attacks by Yemen's Houthis.
Users on social media have uncovered a controversial use case for Google’s new Gemini 2.0 Flash model, which appears capable of removing watermarks from images—often from prominent sources such as Getty Images and other major stock media providers.
Chinese search engine giant Baidu has launched two updated AI models—Ernie 4.5 and Ernie X1—in a bid to bolster its competitive edge in the artificial intelligence market.
China has defended its recent military exercises near Taiwan as a punitive response to what it calls the island’s president’s continued promotion of separatism.
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