50 billion euros at stake: Ukraine hands EU a plan to receive record aid

Ukraine has submitted to the European Commission a preliminary draft plan for the Ukraine Facility program, which is intended to provide a record-breaking €50 billion in economic assistance to our country. The plan includes four main areas of work in which Ukraine should act.

This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. According to him, the plan consists of the following blocks:

• macroeconomic scenarios, including the development of quality recovery institutions;
• basic reforms, such as public administration reform, measures to manage public finances, fight against corruption, and reform of the justice system;
• economic reforms: improvement of the business climate, management of state assets, human capital development, and regional policy;
• key sectors of the economy: energy, agriculture, logistics, IT, and manufacturing.

The plan will also contain three cross-cutting areas. These are European integration, digital transformation, and green transition.

"Today we are taking another important step on our way to Europe. The government is submitting a preliminary draft plan for the Ukraine Facility program to the European Commission," Shmyhal said. He also clarified that the plan is not final, and that it is only a "work in progress".

The Prime Minister also emphasized that the Ukraine Facility Plan is not a general strategy for the country's economic development, but rather a list of conditions for receiving EU assistance.

Assistance to Ukraine worth €50 billion: what is known

The European Parliament gave the go-ahead for a record amount of funding for Ukraine in advance. However, the final decision has not yet been made - it will require a resolution of the EU Council and, accordingly, the consensus of all member states.

According to the European Commission's proposals, such assistance to Ukraine will be provided for 4 years, i.e. until 2027. The money will be allocated both in the form of loans and non-refundable grants. However, the funds will be subject to reforms.

Against this backdrop, the Cabinet of Ministers is already developing a "Plan for Ukraine" that will help the country receive funding from the EU. The detailed document should be ready by December 2023.

The European Commission will check compliance with the plan every three months. If Ukraine complies with the plan, the EU will disburse a tranche of aid, and if it does not, no funding will be disbursed.

Supporters of the plan believe that it will help bring financial support for Ukraine to a more stable and predictable level after a wave of criticism for the haphazard and sporadic disbursement of funds in 2022. In 2023, the EU approved a separate annual financing plan for Ukraine worth €18 billion.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the European Union (EU) has approved plans to use frozen assets for the benefit of Ukraine. So far, it is not about confiscating and transferring money to Kyiv, but about sending our country the profits from Russian financial instruments in Europe.

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