Ukraine, EU sign number of agreements following Kyiv summit

Following the Ukraine-EU Summit held in Kyiv on July 8, Ukraine and the European Union's leaders signed the agreements on financial support for civil society, decentralization, anti-corruption measures, and reforms.

In the presence of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, an agreement was signed on financing the "U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine – Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme - The Second Phase". The document envisages the attraction of the EU’s aid amounting to EUR 40 million to finance decentralization reform and support united communities, the President's Office reports.

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An agreement was signed between the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission on the financing of the "Anticorruption Initiative – The Second Phase" with a total budget of EUR 22.9 million. The EU’s assistance is aimed at strengthening anti-corruption efforts at the national and local levels.

In addition, an arrangement was signed between the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission to fund the "Support for Civil Society and Culture". The EU's assistance totaling EUR 10 million will be mobilized to enhance capabilities of civil society organizations and cultural institutions in promoting the development of accountable, transparent and democratic institutions, social and economic development, as well as preventing violent conflicts.

An agreement was also signed between the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission on the financing of the "Technical Cooperation Program 2019" to support Ukraine in implementing key reforms and provisions of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement in the area of free trade in agriculture, environment, energy, public procurement, business and investment climate, trade and labor relations. The EU's total contribution under the arrangement amounts to EUR 44 million.

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An additional agreement was signed on amending the previous one on financing the "EU Support for the East of Ukraine". The purpose of the document is to increase the amount of EU’s funding by EUR 10 million to expand the efforts within the deal's framework to the regions bordering the Sea of Azov, in particular, to the part of the Zaporizhia region. Thus, the amount of the EU's assistance to finance all measures under the agreement will equal EUR 60 million.