Zelensky enacts law to ratify Ukraine-EU memorandum on EUR 1.2 bln in macro-financial aid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill into law on the ratification of the memorandum and loan agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on EUR 1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance (MFA).

The implementation of the provisions of the memorandum and the agreement will allow Ukraine to get additional loans from the European Union to prop up macroeconomic stability, support the balance of payments, and implement reforms, the president's press service said on Monday, September 14.

The funds will be provided in two disbursements worth EUR 600 million each.

Read alsoUkraine sings Memorandum, Loan Agreement with European Commission – PM Shmyhal

What is disclosed by the Office of the President

The Office of the President noted that the memorandum outlines general prerequisites for the allocation of the funds, and also determines measures needed to implement structural reforms that are necessary to secure the second disbursement of the current aid.

How EU's funds will be spent

The foreseen measures relate to medical procurement, tax and customs reforms, the functioning of the judicial system, public administration, corporate governance for state enterprises, and the functioning of the gas market.

The said memorandum and loan agreement were signed by Ukraine and the EU in Brussels on July 23. This was preceded by the adoption by the European Council of a decision on the allocation of targeted macro-financial assistance to the countries of the European Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in the amount of EUR 3 billion. Ukraine received the largest aid package worth EUR 1.2 billion.

Previous actions

• On August 25, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, ratified the Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine and the European Union on EU macro-financial assistance in the amount of up to EUR 1.2 billion.
• Ukraine, according to the terms of the Memorandum, pledged to conduct a tender after the end of the COVID-19 quarantine to hire heads of the country's State Tax and Customs Services, disband the State Fiscal Service (the agency which was split into the State Tax and Customs Services) and adopt a bill in the first reading to create a new agency to investigate serious economic and financial crimes.