EU mission to monitor compliance with Ukraine Facility plan starts work in Kiev
MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax) - The first European Union mission to monitor the fulfillment of indicators for the Ukraine Facility plan has begun three days of work in Kiev, Ukrainian media reported, citing the Economy Ministry.
"The next three days will be spent consulting [...] on the status of the implementation of the indicators of Ukraine's plan under the EU Ukraine Facility program for the third and fourth quarters of this year," the press release quoted Deputy Economy Minister Alexei Sobolev as saying.
The mechanism for allocating funding under the Ukraine Facility calls for the fulfillment of quarterly indicators of the plan and verification by the EU. The Economy Ministry said it is continuing to coordinate and cooperate with all ministries and agencies involved in the implementation of these reforms.
"Our objective is to make this process as efficient and transparent as possible, as the fulfillment of the Ukraine Facility program indicators and receiving the funds from the EU is an important component for macro-financial planning that helps Ukraine maintain economic stability," Sobolev said.
During the first panel discussion, the head of economic and sectoral policies at the EU Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Marlene Rosemarie Madsen, who is leading the European delegation, said that the process of implementing some of the indicators is ahead of schedule, the press release said.
In the third quarter of 2024, Ukraine plans to fulfill the next nine indicators, which will enable it to receive 4 billion euros in November, including a grant of 1.5 billion euros, the ministry said.
This includes expanding the staff of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, putting into force changes to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code on fighting corruption, and approving an action plan to implement the asset recovery strategy for 2023-2025.
The indicators also include adopting an action plan for deregulation; putting into force a cabinet resolution on changes to the government strategy for regional development for 2021-2027; implementing the REMIT law (provision on the integrity and transparency of wholesale electricity and gas markets that is enshrined in European Parliament and European Council regulation); passing a law on the prevention, reduction and control of industrial pollution; and drafting a concept note defining the scope of deviations from rules for environmental impact studies and strategic environmental assessments.
The Finance Ministry, representatives of which also attended the meeting, said the parties discussed meeting Ukraine's budget needs in 2024, the preparation of the state budget for 2025 and improvement of Ukrainian legislation on the privatization of state banks.
Ukraine received 4.5 billion euros under the Ukraine Facility in March, another 1.5 billion euros in April, 1.9 billion euros in June and 4.2 billion euros in August, including 2.7 billion euros of soft loan financing and a grant of 1.5 billion euros.
Overall financing under the Ukraine Facility is supposed to total 50 billion euros, including 33 billion euros in loans and 17 billion euros in grants. Of this, 38.27 billion euros will go to support the budget, 6.97 billion euros will go into an investment fund and 4.76 billion euros will be used for technical and administrative support.
In order to launch the Ukraine Facility, the Ukrainian government worked out a recovery, reconstruction and modernization plan for the country, and detailed reforms and investments needed to join the EU. The funding is supposed to be allocated as Ukraine fulfills the indicators of this plan.
