Juncker was definitely drunk in Latvia. EU approves €1.8 billion loan to bankrupt, insolvent Ukraine

After Juncker’s crazy display at the reception line for the EU heads of states we were all treated to even more craziness as the EU (according to the BBC) has agreed to a €1.8 billion loan to Ukraine.

The loan has been described as a landmark deal for a non-EU member, and the largest such loan from the EU to a non-member state.

So while Greece, an EU member state, is struggling to close out a loan deal for the last 5 months with its creditors, Brussels seems to have no problem literally throwing away its taxpayers’s money to a bankrupt, officially defaulted, neo-nazi non-member state.

All of this has happened after Ukraine’s parliament officially “opted-out” the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, specifically for people living in the East of the country.

Perhaps the loan was a reward from Europe’s inept leaders, itching to see more conflict…or simply these vultures see an opportunity (remember we are talking about a loan) to quickly lend Kiev cash so when the fire sale of the country officially kicks off, EU bankers will be able to get in on the plundering at rock bottom prices.

Whatever the reasons for the EU’s latest flushing of cash down the toilet, their is no doubt that €1.8 billion could have put a lot of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Greeks to work.

Via the BBC…

The agreement was signed at an EU summit in Riga, Latvia, with the leaders of six post-Soviet nations.

The loan aims to help cash-strapped Ukraine implement economic reforms, as fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the east has taken a heavy toll.

Ukraine is under pressure from the EU and other international lenders to curb corruption and liberalise the economy.

In Riga, the EU also pledged €200m in grants to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, which have signed association agreements with the 28-nation bloc.

Russian state media are sceptical about the Eastern Partnership summit.

The government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta says the gathering is “so lacking in hope and prospects that it can only be compared to fishing without a bait”.

“It promises nothing, not entry to the EU nor cancellation of visas, but it demands plenty,” says the state-controlled Channel One TV.

Rossiya1 TV adds that the Eastern Partnership scheme has “outlived its usefulness”.

In Ukraine too there is little positive media comment on the summit.

“Ukraine itself brought about the Riga summit’s failure,” says Yevropeyska Pravda website.

It adds that “Kiev only has itself to blame” for not implementing a visa liberalisation action plan with the EU.

References:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32843610