{"id":22909,"date":"2022-07-05T11:46:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T18:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=22909"},"modified":"2022-07-05T11:47:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T18:47:00","slug":"what-would-a-marshall-plan-for-ukraine-entail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/07\/05\/what-would-a-marshall-plan-for-ukraine-entail\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT WOULD A \u2018MARSHALL PLAN\u2019 FOR UKRAINE ENTAIL?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MIKE ZONTA<\/a> LEAVE A COMMENT<\/a> EDIT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a \u201cMarshall Plan\u201d to rebuild war-scarred Ukraine. What does he mean by that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv on June 16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 25, 2022 (dw.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faced with great challenges, politicians commonly advocate for equally substantial remedies. One often reached-for comparison is the US Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II. Decision-makers have launched subsequent programs modeled on the Marshall Plan to support pandemic-stricken economies, protect the environment, and much else<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the G7 summit<\/a>, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraine. His idea will be discussed among world leaders in Elmau, Germany, this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a government address, Scholz said his recent visit to Ukraine<\/a> had reminded him of the widespread destruction that had characterized many German cities after World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust like war-scarred Europe then, Ukraine today needs a Marshal plan to rebuild,\u201d he said. This, he added, was a job for the coming generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the Marshall Plan?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1947, then-US Secretary of State George C. Marshall suggested setting up the European Recovery Program (ERP) to help rebuild much of Europe, which had been destroyed in the war. Today, this scheme is commonly known as the Marshall Plan.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Marshall Plan was devised to help postwar Europe get back on its feet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program entailed the US providing loans to finance European reconstruction efforts, as well as importing goods, raw materials and foodstuffs to Europe. More than $12 billion (approximately $150 billion in today\u2019s dollars; \u20ac142 billion) were provided to 16 different countries \u2014 among them West Germany, Italy, France and Great Britain \u2014 between 1948 and 1952. West Germany received roughly $1.5 billion. The cash infusion not only kick-started Europe\u2019s economic recovery, but also opened up new markets for the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marshall Plan had a political dimension, too. Not all European countries received US money. While the US was keen to limit Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union barred Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland from joining the Marshall Plan, fearing US control over the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n