During his working visit to Brussels, Belgium, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni and Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Gert-Jan Koopman.

The parties discussed the current state of Ukraine's economy, cooperation with the EU under the Ukraine Facility and the multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform, as well as Ukraine's European integration process. 

Sergii Marchenko thanked the European partners for their consistent and timely assistance to Ukraine during the russian full-scale invasion. 

 "European integration is one of the key priorities of the Government of Ukraine. I am grateful to my EU colleagues for their cooperation and support of our country on this path. We are actively working to fulfil the tasks jointly defined with our partners. I am convinced that further strengthening of economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU will be another step on Ukraine's path to its European future", the Minister of Finance said. 

During the meeting, it was stressed that the disbursement of the first tranche of EUR 4.5 billion under the Ukraine Facility is a powerful signal to all international partners, which demonstrates the commitment and effectiveness of the Ukrainian Government in meeting the donors' requirements to raise the necessary funding in a timely manner and in full. 

The parties also noted the achievements in the cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union in the areas of customs and fiscal policies. In this context, they discussed the importance of the recent preliminary agreement of the EU Council and the European Parliament to extend trade liberalisation measures for Ukraine in the context of a full-scale war.  The extension of the suspension of import duties and quotas on exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU is one of the significant contributions to further economic growth in the cooperation between Ukraine and the EU. 

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine is making significant efforts to harmonise Ukrainian legislation with EU law. In particular, steps are being taken to improve the customs and tax systems: bringing customs legislation in line with EU norms and implementing measures aimed at increasing transparency in taxation.

As for cooperation within the framework of the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine, the meeting participants noted that it is an important tool in uniting the efforts of Ukraine's partners to coordinate their support, provide experience and knowledge, and work together for the development and recovery of Ukraine. 

The ninth meeting of the Platform's Steering Committee will be held in April, focusing on Ukraine's priority areas: macroeconomic needs, recovery and reconstruction, reforms and private sector engagement.