EU and Ukraine sign Memorandum of Understanding for €1.8 billion in financial assistance
Riga, 22 May 2015
Today in Riga, European Commission
Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis,
Ukraine's Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and the
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gontareva
signed a Memorandum of Understanding and loan agreement for the third EU Macro-Financial
Assistance (MFA) programme to Ukraine. The agreements
set out the conditions for Ukraine to benefit from an additional €1.8 billion
in EU financing.
The Memorandum of Understanding includes a
policy programme drawing from the ambitious reform
agenda of the Ukrainian authorities. It covers important economic and
structural policy measures in six areas: public finance management; governance
and transparency; the business environment; the energy sector; social safety
nets; and the financial sector. These reforms aim to facilitate progress on the
country's main short-term priorities, outlined in the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda. They also take into account the existing
reform commitments of Ukraine under its various programmes
with international creditors, in particular the IMF and the World Bank.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social
Dialogue, said: "Helping Ukraine to achieve
peace and transform the country into a modern, stable and prosperous economy is
one of the most important tasks Europe faces today. Implementing structural
reforms can be difficult, even during good times. I have been encouraged by the
commitment and determination of the Ukrainian Government to reform the country,
despite the very complicated geopolitical and security context. The EU
continues to support Ukraine in its reform efforts. We aim to disburse a first
tranche of €600 million as soon as the Memorandum enters into force, following
its ratification by the Ukrainian Parliament."
The Commission proposed the third Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA)
programme for Ukraine in January. It was adopted by
the European Parliament and the EU Council of
Ministers on 15 April. The programme makes available up to €1.8 billion in medium-term
loans and is intended to assist Ukraine with its critical challenges, such as a
weak balance of payments and fiscal situation. It can be implemented in the
course of 2015 and in early 2016, provided that the conditions of the
Memorandum are met and Ukraine's IMF programme, which
includes a debt restructuring component, remains on track. The package is
envisaged to be disbursed in three equal tranches of €600 million.
This new Macro-Financial Assistance to
Ukraine will be the third MFA programme for Ukraine
since 2010. In 2014 and 2015, the Commission disbursed €1.61 billion under two
similar MFA programmes. Altogether, they amount to €3.41
billion, which represents the largest financial assistance to a non-EU country
in such a short time. It also comes on top of existing EU contributions such as humanitarian aid and technical and project
assistance.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5024_en.htm?locale=en