Page 31 - UKRRptJan22

6.0 Public Sector 6.1 Budget
6.1.1 Budget dynamics - results
The EU and the US will cover the 2023 budget deficit of $38bn.Ukraine expects the budget deficit next year will be covered by support from its international partners, said Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal. Shmyhal added that today, Ukraine has political promises, and the funds have already been voted on, for €18bn from the EU and $9.8bn from the US. In addition, work is ongoing with the IMF, with which there is already a monitoring program. It is expected that an extensive IMF financial program will be ready no later than the first quarter, which will also become a significant source of Ukraine’s financial support. This will make it possible to eliminate the 2023 budget deficit entirely. Shmyhal notes that Ukrainian authorities are now actively working on this issue with international financial organizations and institutions as well as with the G7.
The EU has approved the Ukrainian action plan for 2023-2026 worth a record €50bn. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted the Resistance, Recovery, and Reconstruction action plan for Ukraine in 2023-2026, according to the Council of EU website. In addition to providing ongoing support to Ukraine in fulfilling its obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe, the action plan aims to support Ukraine’s European reform program after granting it EU membership candidate status. The total budget for the four-year cooperation is estimated at €50bn. This makes it the largest budget in the entire history of the Council of Europe for a specific country’s action plan. The Council of Europe will work with Ukrainian authorities to meet their urgent needs and priorities. In that sense, it will support the implementation of the steps outlined in the European Commission's conclusion regarding Ukraine's membership application.
The deficit in Ukraine’s state budget amounted to $22bn over the first eleven months of 2022, the Ekonomicheskaya Pravda news outlet reports, citing data from the finance ministry.
The budget deficit increased by $4.4bn in November alone and climbed to $22bn from January to November, it said.
In early November, the Ukrainian legislative assembly approved the 2023 budget with a record high deficit of $38bn. The budget stipulates an inflation level of 28%. The minimum wage and living wage were left unchanged at $186 and $72 respectively. Defence expenditures are projected to exceed 18% of GDP. On October 25, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy suggested that the West cover the Ukrainian budget deficit in the amount of $38bn.
31 UKRAINE Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com