Rome Summit: Italy leads Ukraine reconstruction efforts
The Conference on Ukraine's Reconstruction in Rome serves as a robust platform under Italy's leadership, yet it also presents significant logistical and political challenges.
Romanian political scientist Cătălin Gabriel Done described the event as "unprecedented in the history of discussions surrounding Ukraine's reconstruction," highlighting the significant commitments made by the European Union.
"The Summit on Ukraine's reconstruction in Rome marks a political success for Italy, as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has, for the first time, managed to gather over 100 official delegations and more than 2,000 representatives from the business sector and civil society. This is unprecedented in the history of discussions surrounding Ukraine's reconstruction," Cătălin Gabriel Done stated on Moldova 1's "IN CONTEXT" show.
According to Done, we are witnessing the initial stage of a Marshall Plan for Ukraine, an initiative by Giorgia Meloni, who is known to be close to US President Donald Trump. "Meloni has successfully brought all political leaders to the table and asserted her will to unconditionally support Ukraine throughout the European Union and the broader international system," the Romanian political scientist observed.
The expert warns about a lack of willingness to utilize frozen Russian assets as a funding source, which risks undermining confidence in the process. "Informally, these discussions have been ongoing for a very long time, but it seems the EU executive and member states are unwilling to ensure transparency in these discussions or to make a firm decision regarding frozen Russian assets," Cătălin Gabriel Done explained.
Furthermore, the analyst noted that the summit focused on four essential pillars: private sector mobilization, local and regional development, reforms for EU accession, and human capital reintegration.
"Discussions included the creation of a 'coalition of will' comprising the UK and France, capable of managing a post-conflict security or peacekeeping framework. Both France and the European Union have hesitated to demonstrate continued willingness to send troops to Ukrainian territory. However, Italy announced it would allocate over €300 million to support Italian companies involved in Ukraine's reconstruction. The European Commission has pledged investment guarantees exceeding €2.3 billion. By the end of this year, over €10 billion of these funds may also be utilized for armaments and military support," the Romanian expert concluded.
It's worth noting that on Thursday, the fourth Conference on Ukraine's Reconstruction took place in Italy. During the meeting, Kyiv estimated the costs of Ukraine's reconstruction at €850 billion over a 14-year period. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the "Ukraine Fund" should be financed from confiscated Russian assets abroad.
The Republic of Moldova also expressed its readiness to contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction and to serve as an economic and logistical corridor for the south of the neighboring country — from Odesa and Mykolaiv to Kherson, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia.
Concurrently, the European Commission allocated €2.3 billion in support for Ukraine's reconstruction following the damage caused by Russia's invasion.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
