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Ukraine.
The European Union has become Ukraine's largest donor in 2023, having
already allocated EUR 13.5 billion as part of the macro-financial assistance
instrument and expecting to pay another EUR 4.5 billion by the end of the year,
European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni has said.
The European Parliament approves amendments to the EU budget and supports the allocation of €50B to Ukraine. The European Parliament adopted a resolution in support of the European Commission's proposals for revising the EU multi-year budget for 2021-2027 and creating a special Ukrainian fund. The resolution contains a separate section dedicated to providing long-term support for Ukraine. "The European Parliament welcomes the European Commission's proposal for a long-term structural solution for solving Ukraine's financial needs and its binding to the EU budget, which will cover the support of macro-financial stability, the investment environment, and the financing of medium- and long-term recovery," the document states. In connection with the European Parliament's decision, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that the Ukrainian government expects to receive €18B in aid from the EU in 2024.
Ukraine and the EU held their third round of consultations on four-year, €50B funding. As reported by the Ministry of Economy, the key topics of discussion were public administration reform, green transition and environmental protection, digitalization, reform of the justice system, corruption and money laundering elimination, state asset management and privatization, energy development, overall recovery architecture, regional policy, and decentralization. A meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group was also held as part of consultations with EU representatives. The participants discussed the privatization of non-strategic state-owned enterprises, the implementation of corporate reform, energy, justice reform, and general donor coordination and agreed on the schedule for further meetings and the terms of approval for the key stages of the plan’s preparation. “We have agreed with our partners that the Ukraine Plan should become the basis for the further involvement of donors and the expansion of participants in the reconstruction and economic recovery of Ukraine," said Economy Minister Yuliya Svyridenko.
The European Parliament changed the four-year, €50B Ukrainian support plan to provide greater transparency. The European Parliament's budget and foreign affairs committees overwhelmingly supported a proposal for a multi-year, €50B plan. One of the key demands from MEPs is the use of frozen Russian assets to reconstruct Ukraine. These demands also include safeguards against corruption, fraud, and other violations in the use of European funds in Ukraine. Among other things, the deputies stressed that companies with oligarchic influence should not receive funding. During consideration in the committees, some changes were made to the project for greater transparency. It is planned to create a separate website that details the funds allocated to Ukraine for specific purposes and the steps Ukraine has taken to receive aid. MEPs also want contributions from third countries and international institutions to be published. The plan for reforms and investments with the participation of the EU must be agreed upon in consultations with the Ukrainian Parliament. The project will be put to a vote on October 16-19.
The IMF positively assesses Ukraine's implementation of the EFF program. According to Uma Ramakrishnan, Deputy Director of the European
57 UKRAINE Country Report November 2023 www.intellinews.com