Ukraine has fulfilled all the twelve necessary conditions to receive the 2nd tranche of the 4th EU macro-financial assistance program worth EUR 500 mln. Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk announced this at a joint briefing with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels.

“The European Commission has started implementing the interagency procedures needed to disburse the funds to Ukraine. All conditions have been fulfilled by Ukraine, but in fact, the funding will be transferred to Ukraine following the IMF program formal confirmation for Ukraine,” said Oleksiy Honcharuk.

The PM stressed that the unlocking of the tranche is a signal of confidence by the international partners in the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine, support of the course of reforms and proof of macroeconomic stability in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is an important country in Europe. It plays a crucial role on our continent. Brexit, instability and conflicts at the EU borders - all those are making it even more important for the European Union. Ukraine is a state that shares the values of the EU, is undergoing the reforms in order to become a modern European country," Valdis Dombrovskis said.

Oleksiy Honcharuk placed a special emphasis on our State’s invariable course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration.. “The European choice of Ukraine is undoubted, and we continue to move in this direction. In recent months, Ukraine has done a great job to bring national rules, regulations and standards closer to the best European practices,” he said.

The Head of Government stressed that Ukraine remains committed to ensure proper implementation of the association agreement. Oleksiy Honcharuk emphasized that the EU is a key trading partner of Ukraine with a 42.2% share in foreign trade. The results of bilateral trade between Ukraine and the EU in 2019 demonstrate further strengthening of economic relations,” said the Prime Minister.

According to the PM, Ukraine is interested in further close coordination with the EU on the key EU-oriented reforms including decentralization and local government reform. He described as one of the priority areas of cooperation the further development of transport connections in view of the ever more intensive movement of people and goods between Ukraine and the EU. Among the topmost objectives in this direction is the signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement that is to give impetus to the development of Ukrainian aviation industry,  increasing the number of flights and passenger transportation.

Oleksiy Honcharuk emphasized a number of critical agreements had been inked by Ukraine with the European Investment Bank the previous year and expressed gratitude to the EIB for its readiness to participate in infrastructure projects in the Azov region.