Rehn Says EU Sees Need to Move Quickly on Ukraine Aid

The European Union wants to move fast on a 1.6 billion-euro ($2.2 billion) aid plan for Ukraine so that money can start flowing to the government in Kiev, said EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.

The EU can start sending payments “immediately” after Ukraine reaches a deal with the International Monetary Fund on a companion package that could be about 13 billion to 14 billion euros, Rehn said in an interview in Brussels yesterday. A payment of about 100 million euros would be followed by 500 million euros “in the very short term,” he said.