European Parliament greenlights EUR 1.2B assistance package to Ukraine

During the plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament gave the green light to a EUR 1.2 billion macro-financial loan to Ukraine.

“The resolution, adopted under the urgency procedure, passed with 598 votes for, 55 against and 41 abstentions,” reads the European Parliament’s press release.

The decision to provide macro-financial assistance to Ukraine must also be taken at the level of the Council of EU before it enters into force.

On February 11, the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) supported the European Commission's proposal to provide additional emergency macro-financial assistance to Ukraine to the tune of EUR 1.2 billion.

The EU provides new emergency macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in response to geopolitical tensions around the country which have had a detrimental effect on its economy and financial stability. Ongoing security threats posed by Russia have led to significant capital outflows and lost access to international capital markets.

The emergency macro-financial assistance is provided for a period of 12 months and will consist of two tranches.

The disbursement of the first tranche has political preconditions and provides for the satisfactory implementation of the IMF program. This payment should be made swiftly after the adoption of this proposal, following the entry into force of the relevant Memorandum of Understanding setting out certain structural measures to be agreed between the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, and Ukraine.

The disbursement of the second tranche will be tied to the satisfactory implementation of both the IMF program and the policy measures set out in the Memorandum of Understanding. This Memorandum stipulates that operations to attract this macro-financial assistance will focus on a limited range of achievable short-term policies in the most urgent areas, such as strengthening economic resilience and stability, improving governance and the rule of law, and energy.

The European Commission issued a proposal to provide Ukraine with EUR 1.2 billion package of macro-financial assistance in the form of loans to strengthen the country's stability on February 1, 2022.

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