A-Infos (en) Italy, UCADI #182: Europe faints over the Ukrainian oligarchs (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The Ukrainian oligarchs who traffic in war supplies and manage funding 
from the EU and the United States and other donor states for the 
ordinary management of state activities are rubbing their hands, 
anticipating the pleasure they will feel in filling their pockets with 
the crest what they will do with the resources that their country will 
receive: Zelensky's snack buddies bet on the continuation of the 
conflict and feast on the dead and wounded on both sides.
But where does all this money, a total of 250 billion dollars, come 
from? Financial support for the war in Ukraine is divided into several 
levels: the first consists of the financing necessary for ordinary state 
expenses, expenses that must be covered taking into account the 
difficulties that the Ukrainian state has in collecting taxes (pensions, 
salaries, etc. ). The second chapter of funding concerns the functioning 
of essential services and especially healthcare and schools. The third 
is the financing necessary for the supply of weapons.
The first expenditure item has so far been covered by a World Bank loan 
of 1.34 billion dollars disbursed under the World Bank's Peace (Public 
Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance) project: a loan 
disbursed thanks to a guarantee of the governments of Japan, the USA, 
Norway and Switzerland.
But now it's not enough anymore. Kristalina Georgieva, director of the 
International Monetary Fund said: "Ukraine needs further financial 
support. For 2024 we estimate this to be approximately $42 billion. He 
earned it by taking severe measures. The part of the country that is not 
under siege is doing very well. Kiev is collecting taxes at a level that 
is the envy of countries not at war, equal to 36% of GDP. For this year 
we expect growth of 4.5% and have reduced inflation to 5%.
But those taxes are barely enough to support the cost of the war and to 
pay the salaries of those who fight, for everything else (schools, 
hospitals, pensions etc. not a penny is left over and that rest costs 
precisely 42 billion. To raise this sum Zelensky is counting on USA and 
EU: 8.5 billion from Washington, which already spends a lot on direct 
military supplies, and 18 billion are expected from Brussels; the rest 
will be taken care of by Great Britain and the other "donors" including 
the IMF, already informal master of the Country since before the war; 
(donors is written in quotation marks because part of this money is 
loans, even though it is very unlikely that Ukraine will be able to 
repay it).
United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and international institutions, such as 
the International Monetary Fund, have already guaranteed Ukraine around 
10 billion euros for 2024. It is hoped to raise part of the additional 
money needed by placing Ukrainian government bonds on the market they 
will necessarily require high rates because they are poorly guaranteed 
by the uncertain outcome of the war. The 50 billion euros to be spread 
over 4 years allocated by the Council of Europe on 1 February after a 
tough confrontation with Orban therefore take on a central role.

Accounting tricks in Brussels

The sudden outbreak of the Ukrainian war required a financial effort 
from the European Union which was initially addressed by resorting to 
emergency funds. However, two years after the start of the war it became 
necessary to find in the community budget the resources necessary to 
support the war effort as a Union, beyond what the individual states 
made available unilaterally. The leadership of the European institutions 
is aware of having led the people of Europe to support a war of which 
they are unconvinced, as emerges from the polls carried out in various 
countries. Perhaps only in the Baltic countries does the intervention in 
support of Ukraine enjoy the favor of the majority of public opinion.
Having to find the necessary resources, European leaders decided to move 
within the folds of the budget and to erode other items, to divert 
resources towards financing the war. Attention has fallen on the sector 
to which 1/3 of the total expenditure of the Union budget is allocated, 
which is made up of funds intended to support community agriculture (CAP).
To achieve cost savings, support, bonuses and provisions of various 
kinds were cut, directing the resources thus obtained towards the 
financing of the war and support for Ukraine. If, in implementing this 
maneuver, the Brussels leaders, with short memories, forgot that they 
were asking for further sacrifices from the agricultural sector as a 
result of the implementation of the green policy which for farmers 
entails greater expenses to support their activities, the loss of 
supplies of diesel and energy at political prices, the limitation of 
cultivable areas, with the obligation of four-year rotation for some of 
them, onerous regulations to be implemented regarding animal welfare and 
optimal conditions for breeding - Add to all this a complication also 
excessive bureaucratic activities necessary to obtain the community 
support provided, the issuing of particularly punitive rules regarding 
the protection of competition, deriving from partnership agreements 
signed with third countries outside the Union.
This already penalized production sector was finally hit by the unfair 
competition of the Ukrainian oligarchs who control the food market of 
that country, who after having obtained "solidarity corridors" for 
Ukrainian goods, so that Ukrainian goods could, crossing the Europe by 
land, using the places in the north of the continent to reach the 
markets, they took advantage of the fact that in carrying out this 
operation the goods were in community territory, to provide for their 
sale on the internal market, competing with the products of the 
countries crossed, moreover burdened by higher costs, having to comply 
with particularly stringent community regulations regarding the 
protection of the quality of the product and the methods with which it 
is cultivated (free from fertilizers and fungicides, prohibited by 
community regulations. but which allow much more raise the level of soil 
productivity) to which Ukrainian producers are not obliged. But what's 
more, the Ukrainian product placed on the market is often a product that 
costs less but is polluted by war events, because as is known, the two 
contenders on the battlefield do not spare themselves the use of 
chemical substances, defoliants, uranium bullets impoverished and 
everything else is certainly not good for your health.
All this was really too much and farmers lost patience, especially since 
many of the national governments followed the same cunning reasoning, 
which, having to find resources and cut spending, also brought the ax 
down on the agricultural sector, just to find resources.
In particular, the German government exposed itself as much as 17 
billion euros in military supplies and aid to Ukraine, with the result 
that the budget problems were so great as to require accounting tricks 
which, placed under the lens of the Supreme Court of Karlsruhe, have 
ended up raising a scandal and risking the fall of the government.
There is enough to explain and motivate the unity with which German 
farmers took to the streets, occupied the streets, invaded Berlin; there 
is enough to understand why the French farmers did the same, like the 
Spanish, the Belgian, the Dutch and some of the Italian ones, who 
although affected by lighter measures, because the Meloni government 
cunningly avoided adopting excessively burdensome ones , have 
nevertheless seen themselves damaged by the competition of Ukrainian 
agricultural products from the bilateral free trade agreements signed by 
Europe. As proof of what we say, we point out that Macron, wanting to 
calm the streets, proposed the approval of a law that protects national 
production , specifically with respect to Ukraine, promised to do the 
same at community level, meeting the consensus of the demonstrators who 
called off the protest. Other governments are looking at this solution 
with growing interest.
It is time to stop lying to the populations of Europe and clearly state 
how things are when they are called upon to sacrifice their well-being, 
having the honesty to admit how much it costs to look favorably on entry 
into the EU. of a country led by a gang of oligarchs and bearded 
Orthodox popes rebels against the Patriarchate of Moscow and acolytes of 
a non-existent Ecumenical Patriarchate who lives a virtual life in a 
neighborhood of Istanbul (the Faner), dreaming of hegemony over the 
world and who to achieve this goal he does not hesitate to foment, as 
his friend Killer Patriarch of Moscow does, a fratricidal war unleashed 
by Putin, whose victims are two peoples, the Ukrainian and the Russian.

The parallel war

While on the front and in the country the armies of the two nations are 
fighting each other, using every weapon at their disposal, another war 
is underway within Ukraine and concerns the clash waged by the 
government with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated to the 
Patriarchate of Moscow. Draft law 8371 on amendments to the law of 
Ukraine "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations to 
establish restrictions on the exercise of freedom to profess religion or 
belief necessary to protect security and public order was submitted 
against this church , life, health and morals, as well as the rights and 
freedoms of other citizens".
The rules contained in the provision are aimed at religious 
denominations that have their headquarters in a country that has 
attacked Ukraine or that occupies portions of its territory. This 
religious denomination is prevented from exercising worship, registering 
statutes and, where they have already been registered, their 
effectiveness is prohibited. The entry of new adherents into the 
religious denomination is prohibited and it is specified that the 
"prohibition of the activity of a religious organization or association 
entails the termination of the religious organization or association and 
their activities, the dissolution of their bodies, cells and other 
structural parts. In case of prohibition of religious organization or 
association, property, funds and other activities taking place in their 
property are transferred to the property of the State, which is 
indicated in the court decision. The transfer of such property, funds 
and other assets into state ownership is provided by the central body of 
executive power, which implements state policy in the sphere of religion 
in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers 
of Ukraine. In the event of a prohibition of a religious organization or 
association, a rental or disposal agreement for other real estate 
reasons in which the relevant religious organization or association (or 
their structural part) is a party, will be closed, as indicated in the 
court's decision."
In application of this law, the Ukrainian courts are validating the 
decisions of the executive to seize monasteries, churches and buildings 
and assets owned by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church linked to the 
Patriarchate of Moscow, proceeding in a subsequent phase to transfer 
their management to the National Ukrainian Orthodox Church 
(autocephalous), recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The 
intervention on the buildings is accompanied by the repression of 
ministers of worship and primates of this Church who are investigated 
for the most diverse reasons, in some cases imprisoned and prevented 
from exercising their religion, despite the fact that the Church has 
distanced itself from the Patriarchate of Moscow and condemned Russia's 
invasion of Ukrainian territory.
The adoption of measures of this type clearly violates the rules of the 
European Union and those of the rule of law to which Ukraine claims to 
aspire, proof of which is that it is a candidate for entry into the 
Union, forgetting that one of the conditions for this process to 
conclude positively is constituted by the acceptance of the community 
eaquis, and therefore of the State's obligation to guarantee the 
protection of the religious freedom of individuals, as well as of 
religious confessions.
It could be objected that the state of war somehow justifies this type 
of security policy, but in light of the evolution of the intra-religious 
conflict in Ukraine and the role it had in the explosion of the 
conflict, we feel we can say that this illiberal choice of the Ukrainian 
regime reveals the bluff constituted by the country's declared 
aspiration to adhere to the values of the West which is asked to sell 
itself out for Ukraine.

The Editorial Staff

https://www.ucadi.org/2024/02/17/leuropa-si-svena-per-gli-oligarchi-ucraini/
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