(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Austrian federal government has not yet transferred 2 million euros to the Slovenian organization International Trust Fund (ITF), which was announced two months ago for demining in Ukraine.
Member of the National Council of Austria, spokesperson for the foreign policy of the liberal party NEOS Helmut Brandstetter said this, according to apa , Ukrinform reports.
"As the ITF director confirmed to us, even after two months, the federal government has not transferred a single cent of the promised two million euros to the aid organization," Brandstetter said.
According to him, the Slovenian organization International Trust Fund (ITF) has not yet received a single contract.
"The fact that members of the government from the Austrian People's Party, starting with the chancellor and onwards, boast at every opportunity that they are financially supporting civilian demining is a farce and simply not true," said the spokesman for the opposition NEOS.
Read also: int'l partners to provide ukraine with $244m for demining - svyrydenko Reacting to this information, the Austrian Foreign Ministry told ARA that the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), which makes payments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, depends on project partners - that is, the ITF - to submit project proposals quickly. It is noted that ITF submitted such a project proposal three weeks ago, on July 4.
"After review by the ADA and the conclusion of an agreement with the project partner, all funding in this amount must be reviewed and approved by the ADA Supervisory Board," the statement said.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry expects the funds for the ITF to be transferred "in the first half of August."
As reported earlier, there was a delay in the Austrian government's transfer of €10 million in financial assistance to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine. The first tranche of this aid was announced in December 2022, during Russia's massive attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. However, the official transfer ceremony to the Energy Community, which manages the Fund, took place only on May 25, 2023.
Read also: ukraine needs 150 demin ing systems to satisfy farmers' demands alone - zelensky According to the Austrian media, the money was supposed to come to the Fund from the budget of the Ministry of Climate Protection, headed by the representative of the Green Party, Leonore Gevessler. However, the ministry pointed to delays on the part of the Ministry of Finance, which has to approve the tranche and is headed by Magnus Brunner, a representative of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).
As Ukrinform reported, on May 28, the Austrian federal government announced that it would provide the Slovenian organization International Trust Fund (ITF) with 2 million euros for humanitarian demining in Ukraine.