Ukraine received €1.5 billion in macro-financial assistance from the EU

On March 21, 2023, Ukraine received €1.5 billion as part of the large-scale Macro-Financial Assistance Program (MFA) from the European Union. It is reported on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The funds will be used to finance the most urgent expenses of the state budget. The specified amount is the second tranche through the preferential credit program for 2023, the total amount of which is €18 billion. Ukraine received the first tranche of €3 billion in January 2023. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, the EU has provided Ukraine with €11.7 billion in macro-financial assistance.

“Since the beginning of 2023, the total amount of direct budget aid from the EU has reached €4.5 billion. I am grateful to colleagues from the European Union for consistent and systematic support of Ukraine. Macro-financial assistance is a significant contribution to ensuring financial stability and speeding up victory in the war,” noted Serhii Marchenko, the Minister of Finance.

Ukraine will receive the next tranches through the large-scale MFA program during the current year, taking into account the fulfillment by the Ukrainian side of the conditions agreed by the parties.

EU will continue preferential trade regime for Ukraine, said the deputy head of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis. According to him, as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, the European Commission proposed to extend the suspension of import duties, quotas and trade protection measures on Ukrainian exports to the European Union for another year. In addition, work is underway to deepen Ukraine’s integration into the EU single market.

Due to the complete abolition of import tariffs and quotas by the EU, Ukrainian business was able to increase exports to the European Union during the war. In 2022, it amounted to $27.9 billion, which is 63% of the total volume of exports for the past year.

As GMK Center reported earlier, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) can provide Ukrzaliznytsia with emergency support loan under sovereign guarantees for €200 million. The board of directors of the bank plans to consider the corresponding project at the meeting on May 10, 2023.