Successful recovery requires a wide range of tools, methodologies and regulatory changes. It is already necessary to outline the legislative framework for recovery, taking into account the positive experience of the Fund for the Elimination of the Consequences of Armed Aggression. This was stated by Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, during the conference “Transparent and Accountable Restoration: Experience 2023, Expectations 2024”.

Thanks to the work of the Interagency Working Group, 310 regional recovery projects can be financed from the Fund for over UAH 11 billion. These are projects that help bring life back to the affected communities, restore destroyed housing, critical infrastructure, hospitals, schools and kindergartens.

“This year we have succeeded in laying the foundations for effective, transparent and accountable. The Fund for the Elimination of Consequences has become one of the key instruments. The main task now is to enshrine the best practices in law. I am grateful to the partners and experts who have contributed to the implementation of the new instruments and procedures. We look forward to further joint work with the revamped Fund and with the recovery as a whole,” Oleksandr Kubrakov emphasised.

Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, underlined the European Union’s commitment to continue supporting Ukraine during the full-scale russian invasion and the recovery process.

According to Stefan Schleuning, Ukraine has become an EU candidate country by fighting back against a ruthless aggressor. This is a challenge that the EU recognises and respects: recovery and reform must go hand in hand. That is why the European Commission has proposed a support facility for Ukraine of up to EUR 50 billion to help the country recover as it moves forward on its EU accession path. The key will be to use these funds in a transparent and sustainable way, minimising corruption risks as much as possible. A strong anti-corruption architecture – at all levels, including effective independent audit – remains essential for Ukraine’s European future, and the EU stands ready to support it.

Among the main results of the Fund’s work, the conference participants noted the following:

• targeted support to communities: 80% of all funded regional projects were submitted by local authorities;
• uniform rules for project selection through the project prioritisation methodology developed together with experts from the RISE Ukraine coalition of NGOs;
• use of digital tools: all projects funded by the Fund are included in the DREAM digital ecosystem for recovery management;
• transparency of procedures: all meetings of the Interagency Working Group were broadcast online, and the materials were made publicly available.

A study on the improvement and institutionalisation of the Fund will be completed in October 2023. Next year, its activities should be updated to take into account the recommendations and updates of the DREAM ecosystem – the Digital Restoration EcoSystem for Accountable Management.

The conference "Transparent and Accountable Recovery: Experience 2023, Expectations 2024" is a joint initiative of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative EUACI.

The event was attended by representatives of civil society organisations, the RISE Ukraine coalition, members of parliament, and international organisations actively involved in Ukraine’s recovery.