Ukraine to receive EUR 6B of bridge financing from EU - Finance Ministry
Today, Ukraine and the European Union have signed a Loan Agreement and a Memorandum on bridge financing for Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility. The total amount of concessional funds is EUR 6 billion.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Finance.
The signatories on behalf of Ukraine were Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko, and Governor of the National Bank Andriy Pyshnyy.
It is expected that the first disbursement of EUR 4.5 billion will be channeled to the State Budget of Ukraine in March. Ukraine will receive the rest of this amount — EUR 1.5 billion — in April 2024 after the European Commission assesses the performance of the indicators.
As part of the bridge financing mechanism, Ukraine is implementing 5 indicators in the areas of public finance management, anti-corruption, business environment development, etc.
Marchenko expressed gratitude to the European Union for the significant and timely financial support.
“I am grateful to the European Union for the significant and timely financial support. The Bridge financing mechanism will allow us to cover the urgent needs of the budget until the final approval of the Ukraine Plan under the Facility Ukraine, which provides indicators of reforms during 2024-2027. Our profound cooperation with the European institutions continues to contribute to strengthening Ukraine's macro-financial stability, further economic growth and progress towards full EU membership," said Marchenko during the signing.
Following the approval of the Ukraine Plan under the Facility Ukraine, the State Budget is expected to receive EUR 1.9 billion in pre-financing, which is unconditional. Ukraine will receive the rest of the budget support quarterly after performing the indicators set out in the Ukraine Plan.
"Along with our European partners, we are completing the preparation of the Plan for the Ukraine Facility and preparing for the full launch of the program. We have made significant progress. The signing of the Agreement will allow us to start financing even before the official approval of the Plan and will provide EUR 6 billion to cover the current needs of the State Budget in March and April this year," said Svyrydenko.
As reported, in February 2024, the European Parliament approved the regulations of the Ukraine Facility programme, according to which the amount of EU support for Ukraine in 2024-2027 will be EUR 50 billion. Of this amount, EUR 38.27 billion will be allocated to support the state budget, EUR 6.97 billion to the investment fund, and EUR 4.76 billion to technical and administrative support.
The Ukraine Facility Plan is a technical document required to implement the EU's financial support programme for Ukraine.