October 27, First Vice Prime Minister/ Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv and Peter Wagner, Head of the Support Group for Ukraine at the European Commission, signed two agreements on cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the European Union.

In the framework of the agreement on financing of the technical cooperation program of 2017, the European Union will provide assistance to the Ukrainian government in enhancing the capacity of public authorities regarding the implementation of the Association Agreement as well as the comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. The said agreement envisages the funding for bringing Ukrainian legislation into line with EU law, as well as effective drafting and implementation of reforms.

The technical assistance under the program will be focused on promising areas such as public administration, agriculture, land reform, private sector support, health care, culture and transport. The projects will be financed both through direct provision of grant funds and indirectly through their administration by the British Council, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the United Nations Development Programme.

The total budget of the program makes up almost EUR 38.1 million (of which the EU contribution is EUR 37 million, the contribution of the British Council is almost EUR 63 thousand, compensation for being a participant in the COSME program – EUR 1 million).

Within the framework of the second document signed by the parties - the Agreement on financing of the program "Support to Rule of Law Reforms in Ukraine (PRAVO)" the European Commission will allocate funds for a set of measures seek to reform the legal system in Ukraine.

These include: support for judicial reform, in particular, justice systems, enforcement of judgments, improved access to the justice system, state registries, enforcement of sanctions and support for reform of the law enforcement system with an emphasis on supporting the National Police of Ukraine.

The budget of the program is EUR 52.5 million.