The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament on Monday, January 5, reached a preliminary agreement on the creation of a new special instrument to support the recovery, reconstruction, and modernization of Ukraine, as well as to support its efforts to carry out reforms on the way to joining the EU.
This was reported in the Council of the EU.
The Ukrainian fund in the amount of EUR 50 billion will combine budgetary support for Ukraine from the EU into one single instrument that will provide consistent, predictable, and flexible support for the period 2024-2027.
"The Ukrainian Fund will allow us to direct consistent and predictable support to Ukraine to help its people rebuild their country in the face of unprecedented challenges caused by Russia's war of aggression. At the same time, this support will help Ukraine promote the reforms and modernization necessary to advance on the path to future EU membership," said Vincent Van Peteghem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Belgium, which presides over the Council of the EU.
The structure of the program for Ukraine will consist of three components:
Component I: The Government of Ukraine will prepare a "Ukrainian Plan," which will outline its intentions for the recovery, reconstruction, and modernization of the country, as well as the reforms it plans to implement as part of the EU accession process.
Component II: As part of the investment program, the EU will provide support in the form of budget guarantees and a combination of grants and loans from public and private institutions.
Component III: Assistance in joining the European Union and other support measures that help Ukraine adapt to EU legislation and carry out structural reforms on the way to future membership.
Ukraine can request, within the framework of the "Ukrainian Plan," an advance payment of up to 7% of the program amount.
A prerequisite for Ukraine's support under the fund will be that Ukraine will continue to support and respect effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law, as well as guarantee the respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.
In order to evaluate the implementation of the plan, the regulation will provide a system of indicators that will help to easily track progress in the implementation of various qualitative and quantitative steps, including an overview of the social, economic, and environmental elements of the "Ukrainian Plan."
The preliminary agreement is subject to approval by the EU Council and the European Parliament before the text can go through the formal adoption process. Once adopted, it will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and enter into force the following day. The Regulation will be applied once it enters into force.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on February 1, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that the leaders of the European Union countries approved the allocation of 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán explained why he agreed to support the allocation of funds to Ukraine after long objections.
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