Deputy PM reveals some details of IMF-Ukraine talks

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna says further cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the prerequisites for getting the IMF's second tranche.

The Constitutional Court's ruling, which recognized unconstitutional certain provisions of the law on the National Anti-corruption Bureau, jeopardized the receiving of the first tranche from the IMF. "Macro-financial assistance was on a very thin thread," she told the Ukrainian TSN TV news service reported on February 4.

Read alsoIMF mission continues its work on Ukraine SBA reviewThe negotiations on the second disbursement have "quite good dynamics," Stefanishyna assured.

"Parliament's agenda this week includes [consideration of] amendments to the [draft] law on the civil service regarding the abolition of the so-called 'coronavirus' biddings and some other procedures. Parliament has already voted on the Financial Investigation Service (FIS). This is one of the key decisions. Of course, there is a package that concerns anti-corruption issues. Work is underway there. We expect further amendments to strengthen criminal liability for false declaration of assets. A decision on judicial reform is being developed," she added.

Background

• Last week, Ukrainian Finance Minister Marchenko said the mission had extended its work in Ukraine for another seven to ten days.
• On January 11, the IMF mission, which is to make the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Ukraine, resumed its work in Kyiv.
• On June 9, 2020, the IMF's Executive Board adopted an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine with funding equivalent to SDR 3.6 billion (about US$5 billion) aimed at helping Ukraine overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On June 12, Ukraine received the first tranche of the IMF loan under the SBA worth US$2.1 billion.
• In late November, the Finance Ministry reported on the successful completion of talks with the IMF on benchmarks of the draft budget for 2021, which was one of the major prerequisites for starting the SBA review.