“We are horrified and deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing crisis,” says a common statement from the heads of the major international financial institutions.
The statement was signed by Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Carlo Monticelli, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group (WBG).
They warn that the impacts of the war will be extensive – “from reduced energy and food supplies, to increases in prices and poverty and a massive undertaking of Ukraine’s reconstruction, all of which will hamper the post-pandemic recovery around the world.”
“The entire global economy will feel the effects of the crisis through slower growth, trade disruptions, and steeper inflation, harming especially the poorest and most vulnerable.
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Higher prices for commodities like food and energy will push inflation up further.
Countries, particularly those neighbouring Ukraine, will suffer disruptions in trade, supply chains and remittances as well as surges in refugee flows,” says the statement.
The heads also mentioned that their institutions have responded with emergency support to Ukraine and its neighbours. For example, the EBRD approved a ‘War on Ukraine – EBRD Resilience Package’, initially sized at €2 billion, to respond to the immediate needs of the people affected by the war and – when conditions permit – support the substantial reconstruction of Ukraine.
The EIB has prepared an emergency Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response, encompassing the provision of immediate financial support of €668 million to Ukrainian authorities and the repurposing of infrastructure project commitments to accelerate delivery of an additional €1.3 billion. So far €329 million has been disbursed.