BRUSSELS – One of the conditions for the allocation of the second tranche of macroeconomic assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 1.2 billion euros is the fight against corruption, Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said.
“The EU stands firmly by Ukraine on its reform path, providing unprecedented financial and technical support. We are supporting Ukraine with a new Macro-Financial Assistance programme worth 1.2 billion euros to help mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. Its first tranche of 600 million euros was disbursed in early December. We stepped up support especially during this crisis, where the EU is showing solidarity with Ukraine during the pandemic,” Dombrovskis said in Brussels on Feb. 10 following the meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
“During our meeting with the prime minister, I stressed that the fight against corruption is a key condition for the EU’s macro-financial support,” he said.
According to Dombrovskis, the EU believes that the fight against corruption and reform in the justice sector is an important priority for Ukraine since the EuroMaidan Revolution.
“The EU has invested heavily in supporting an effective anti-corruption institutional architecture in Ukraine. The EU is ready to support Ukraine in doing this. We urge all reform-oriented political factions to come together and give a clear signal of Ukraine’s determination to make its reform path irreversible,” Dombrovskis said.
He also noted that, in addition to the fight against corruption, the allocation of the second tranche will depend on the implementation of measures in various areas that Ukraine has pledged to carry out, as well as on progress with the IMF.
“At our meeting today, we discussed the state of affairs, important reforms, for example, in the justice sector, how to make the anti-corruption infrastructure work and to improve the business climate,” the European Commission vice president said.
In addition, Dombrovskis spoke in favor of the possibility of revising the Agreement on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.
“Before the meeting of the Association Council [in Brussels on Feb. 11], the prime minister and I discussed the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area […] We understand that it is also necessary to respect the commitments undertaken under this agreement. We noted Ukraine’s interest in trade and economic cooperation, deepening our work in such areas as the digital economy, customs,” Dombrovskis said.
“We will discuss the next steps for developing our bilateral relations in the post-pandemic period at this week’s EU-Ukraine Association Council. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Shmyhal and I will also launch the process for the review of trade liberalisation for goods, which is foreseen under Article 29 of the Association Agreement five years after its entry into force,” Dombrovskis said.
