The EU is struggling to establish a mechanism to permit Ukrainian refugees to exchange their hryvnia savings into euros or other European currencies, a measure that would ease the plight of the millions of refugees entering the bloc.
The European Commission is locked in discussions with the European Central Bank over the creation of a facility to permit a certain amount of savings in Ukraine’s currency to be swapped into euros, but the scheme will require guarantees from EU member states to cover potential losses on the hryvnia’s value.
Officials say EU capitals are willing to provide the backstop needed, which could be worth billions of euros, but that creating the mechanism rapidly is proving to be a complex legal and technical challenge.