Ukraine, EU sign 1.2 bln euro macro-financial assistance agreement

Source: Xinhua | 2020-07-25

Ukraine and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement, which provides Ukraine with macro-financial assistance worth 1.2 billion euros (1.4 billion U.S. dollars), Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on his official Telegram channel on Thursday.

The relevant documents were signed on Thursday during the working visit of the prime minister to Brussels.

The macro-financial assistance program is intended for 12 months and will be provided through two tranches of 600 million euros (700 million dollars) each. The first tranche's allocation is possible immediately after the agreement enters into force.

The provisions of the draft memorandum agreed with the European Commission stipulate eight obligations to be fulfilled by the Ukrainian side to receive the second part of macro-financial assistance, which include the increase of medical procurement transparency, tax and customs administrations reform, and strengthening the independence and integrity of the judiciary system.

The total EU assistance to Ukraine in the form of macro-financial loans has reached 3.8 billion euros since 2014, making it the largest amount of macro-financial assistance that the EU has provided to a non-EU country.