The EU Council approved on May 14 the Ukraine Plan, a document that sets out the Ukrainian government's plans for recovery and reconstruction and is a necessary step for the implementation of a 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) assistance program.
The EU approved the four-year Ukraine Facility in February, allocating 33 billion euros ($36 billion) in loans and 17 billion euros ($18 billion) in grants.
Today's approval of the plan will allow the European Commission to disburse up to 1.89 billion euros ($2 billion) in an additional pre-financing tranche before the start of regular payments tied to the implementation of reforms.
Kyiv has already received two pre-financing "bridge" tranches under the assistance plan: 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) in March and 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in April.
Further payments will be disbursed by the EU based on the "implementation of the agreed reform and investments," the Council's statement read.
Along with recovery efforts, the Ukraine plan also includes modernization and reform plans for the next four years as part of the country's path toward EU accession.
"An important step has been made to deliver much-needed, regular, and predictable financial support to Ukraine's recovery, reconstruction, and modernization over the next four years," said Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Peteghem, whose country currently presides over the EU Council.
"The EU has once more confirmed its commitment to Ukraine's stability and growth."
Ukraine received EU membership candidate status in June 2022. In November 2023, the European Commission recommended the launch of accession talks with Kyiv.
The European Council then agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine the following month.
Alexander Query
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