Payments under EU's 50 bln euro Ukraine Facility to start in March - European Commission

MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) - The first payments as part of the Ukraine Facility, the European Union's new financial instrument for Ukraine, will be made in March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"Last night's political agreement on the 50 billion euro Ukraine Facility is a major step forward. [...] We aim to start payments in March," von der Leyen said on social media on Tuesday.

It was reported earlier that the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament announced they reached a provisional agreement early Tuesday on a 50 billion euro facility to support Ukraine in 2024-2027.

The council and the parliament reached a provisional agreement "on setting up a new single dedicated instrument to support Ukraine's recovery, reconstruction and modernization, while supporting its efforts to carry out reforms as part of its accession path to the EU," a statement on the Council of the EU website said.

The Ukraine Facility's total budget of 50 billion euros will be split between 33 billion euros in loans in 17 billion euros in grants.

The provisional agreement has to be approved by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament before going through the formal adoption procedure.