EU Slows on Ukraine Aid as Bloc Girds for Economic Pain

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High-profile aid to Ukraine that the EU promised in May seems to be shifting to the back burner as the bloc faces the prospect of severe economic pain at home. While commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed sending 9 billion euros in emergency loans to Ukraine, so far, the EU has only managed to agree on an initial tranche that covers a ninth of that target. When finance ministers discussed the issue this week, we learned that economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told them that governments need to ensure the economic response to the war’s fallout at home is strong enough to avoid the risk of fatigue among Europeans. Heading into the traditionally sleepy summer period in Brussels, the EU will face new challenges as the specter of a total cut-off from Russian gas and the tightening of monetary policy risk pushing the region into a second recession in two years.