EU allocates nearly 100 mln euros in funding for Ukraine's power decentralization
BRUSSELS. Dec 7 (Interfax) - The European Commission on Monday announced that it has approved a package of measures to support decentralization reform and reinforce local governance in Ukraine.
A total of 97 million euros is being allocated for this program, the European Commission said in a communique. It is funded mainly (90 million euro) from the EU budget, with Germany contributing 6 million euros, and Poland, one million euros.
The funding aims to reinforce administrations and to provide them with accountability at local, regional and central levels. An extra 10 million euros in assistance to be received via the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace is designed to restore governance, reconciliation and peace-building in eastern Ukraine which was hit hardest by the war and displacement.
At issue are the parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which are controlled by Kyiv, and have been affected by the military conflict.
"Ukraine remains on the top of the EU's agenda," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini told a press conference after a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council on Monday.
"These programs will play an important role in supporting Ukraine in its efforts to improve governance, including in the conflict-affected areas in the East," she said.
EU Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that the decision on such significant funding demonstrates Europe's support for the power-decentralization reforms in Ukraine.
This is the second program approved by the European Commission for Ukraine this year, bringing its total grant aid for Ukraine in 2015 to 200 million euros. The decentralization program is part of the EU and its financial institutions' pledge to provide over 12 billion euros for Ukraine in the form of grants and loans for its micro-financial stabilization and reform process.