Ukraine can become a new production site, arsenal, energy hub for the EU and take an important place in the value chain of new technologies. This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during the panel “Ukraine and Europe: Toward a Common Future” at the Kyiv International Economic Forum on 7 November.

“Ukraine’s integration into the EU will create added value not only for Ukraine but also for Europe. We have deposits of critical materials that the EU lacks and a growing defence industry. We have the potential and ambition to replace part of the EU’s imports with goods produced in Ukraine, strengthening European strategic autonomy. To this end, we are implementing a number of policies, including the ‘Made in Ukraine’ programme, to stimulate production, attract investment in the real sector and boost non-resource exports,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Mario Draghi’s plan for Europe’s economic future envisages focusing on innovation, decarbonisation and security, reducing the leverage of goods supply to Europe and building European strategic autonomy. The report hardly mentions Ukraine. At the same time, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen instructed the European Commissioners to develop a plan for Ukraine’s economic integration.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, the Ministry of Economy is responsible for a number of policies that should unlock Ukraine’s potential. In particular, the Ukraine Facility Plan, which aims to bring Ukraine’s legislation closer to EU standards, implement important reforms and obtain guarantees for business.

Another policy that will allow Ukraine to produce, invest in production and export high value-added goods is the “Made in Ukraine” policy. It includes localisation programmes, compensation for the cost of Ukrainian equipment, grants for the development of the processing industry, support for projects with significant investments, the Affordable Loans at 5-7-9% programme, and others.

“We have consolidated all our business support programmes into a single policy called ‘Made in Ukraine’. The aim of the policy is to create conditions that make it profitable to produce, invest in production and export high value-added goods in Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainian producers benefit from these programmes. We hope that thanks to this policy, they will become the ones who will replace russian imports for the EU, in particular,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.