EU establishing EUR 1.4B investment support program for Ukraine

The European Union is providing Ukraine with substantial financial assistance as part of the EUR 50 billion Facility for Ukraine, and at the same time, is signing the first agreements worth EUR 1.4 billion together with partner European banks to attract foreign capital investment to Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated this at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“And here in Berlin, we are signing the first agreements worth EUR 1.4 billion with our partner banks, to attract investments in Ukraine from the private sector. We will also launch dedicated support for equity investments in Ukraine. Our partner banks will be able to apply for EU budget support, when they invest in equity funds active in Ukraine. In that way, we, the EU, help them remove some of the risks associated with equity investments,” said the European Commission president.

She stressed that the aim is to improve access to finance for Ukrainian businesses, especially for SMEs and start-ups that can help modernise the Ukrainian economy, for example, in areas like IT and digitalisation, renewable energy, and critical raw materials.

“We will start with a pilot to address the most urgent needs, which can be scaled up over time. I know the business community wants to step up its contribution. And together, we will mobilise the financial firepower to help Ukraine resist [Russia’s aggression] and recover,” said Ursula von der Leyen.

As reported earlier, the Ukraine Recovery Conference is taking place in Berlin today, attended by leaders of several European countries, foreign ministers, and representatives of European business and industry. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the conference participants.