"Marshall Plan" for Ukraine: European Commission is ready to manage all recovery aid

Deutsche Welle reports that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphasized this in her opening speech at the International Conference on Post-War Reconstruction of Ukraine.

She noted that Ukraine now has the status of a candidate for the EU, and added that Kyiv's support will benefit the Union in the long term. "We have no time to waste, the scale of destruction is staggering. The World Bank puts the cost of the damage at €350 billion ($345 billion)," von der Leyen said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also emphasized the need for immediate assistance to Ukraine. 

"We do not know when this war will end. But end it will. And when it does, we will continue to stand by Ukraine and its struggle for security, freedom and democracy. We know that no two countries' history are the same. But from our own historical experience, we also know that reconstruction is always possible and that it is never too soon to tackle this task," Scholz said.

He called for work on "Marshall Plan" of the 21st century to begin immediately. European Commission is ready to become the secretariat for managing all international aid for reconstruction of Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen, said.

Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressed conference attendees via video link. He noted that those who invest in the reconstruction of Ukraine are primarily investing in the reconstruction of a future EU member.

• On October 24, Ukrainian-German economic forum was opened in Berlin by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.