Ukrainian authorities and IMF reach staff level agreement on the sixth review of the EFF arrangement

Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities and IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement on the sixth review of the 4-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement. The total amount of the program is about USD 15.6 billion for 2023-2027.

The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, with Board consideration expected in coming weeks.

During the week of 11-18 November, the leadership of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine, other Ukrainian authorities and the IMF mission to Ukraine held a series of discussions on the sixth review.

The Ministry of Finance was represented by Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko, First Deputy Minister of Finance Denys Uliutin, Deputy Ministers of Finance Yuriy Draganchuk, Olga Zykova, Svitlana Vorobey and Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management Yuriy Butsa.

Ukraine has performed four structural benchmarks set for the sixth review of the Arrangement:

• adopted of amendments to the Customs Code in line with international best practice;
• reviewed of pre-war policies and practices for medium-term budget planning was conducted;
• assessed financial risks to stability and preparing action plans for various scenarios;
• analysed the debts and assess financial conditions of District Heating Companies;
• and produced a SOE state ownership policy, dividend policy and privatisation strategy.

In addition, Ukraine has met another structural benchmark in the energy sector ahead of schedule.

The IMF staff highly appreciated the efforts and commitment of the Ukrainian Government to implement the comprehensive reform plan under the Arrangement.

“Together with the IMF team, Ukraine continues to successfully implement the EFF arrangement. The implementation of the measures and policies identified allows us to maintain macro-financial stability and supports our country’s European integration path. The staff-level agreement on the sixth review paves the way for the disbursement of a USD 1.1 billion tranche,” said Sergii Marchenko.

The mission noted that the 2025 budget is in line with the parameters of the EFF. At the same time, external support continues to be critical given the ongoing full-scale war.

The IMF also emphasized the importance of implementing the National Revenue Strategy as a key pillar in increasing domestic revenues, restoring fiscal sustainability, improving the business climate, and meeting EU accession criteria.

Since the IMF EFF was launched, the State Budget has received about USD 8.7 billion out of the envisaged USD 15.6 billion.

The International Monetary Fund is the third largest provider of financial assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, with about USD 11.4 billion.