Ukraine aims to secure all EU aid planned for 2025, economy minister says
Kyiv intends to implement the reforms necessary to secure the full tranche of aid for 2025 under the European Union's Ukraine Facility, Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev told reporters on Aug. 2.
Sobolev's remarks come after the EU announced on July 25 that the next disbursement of financial assistance would be smaller than planned due to Ukraine's failure to complete key reforms by the established deadlines.
Ukraine aims to get back on track to complete the reforms in order to secure the full 12.5 billion euros ($14.5 billion) under the Ukraine Facility for 2025, Sobolev said at a press conference.
"We plan to fulfill everything," he said, according to Bloomberg.
Kyiv has also submitted an updated version of the Ukraine Plan for the European Commission's consideration.
"The Ukraine Plan was developed in 2023, and during its development, the European Commission provided for the possibility of changing the terms of the Plan in the event of objective circumstances," the Economy Ministry said in a statement.
"Two years after the start of work on the Plan, there was a need to update the obligations under the Ukraine Facility program."
The Ukraine Facility was approved in February 2024 as a four-year program providing 33 billion euros ($36 billion) in loans and 17 billion euros ($18 billion) in grants to stabilize Ukraine’s economy and support post-war recovery.
The Ukraine Plan serves as the reform roadmap tied to the country's EU accession process, covering governance, rule of law, reconstruction, and economic modernization.
The proposed amendements to the Ukraine Plan push back some requirements while accelerating others. The new version calls to move up the adoption of legislation on the sale of public banks from the first quarter of 2026 to the fourth quarter of 2025. It also suggests passing legislation on renewable energy investments by late 2025 instead of 2026.
European Commission Spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said that EU regulations allow for revisions to the Ukraine Plan in light of evolving circumstances.
"Given the ongoing conflict, it is clear that certain amendments to the Plan are being considered due to objective circumstances," Mercier told the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrinform.
Ukraine may request revisions to the Plan, and "the European Commission will assess this request and, based on its assessment, may propose to the EU Council amendments to the Plan," he said.
Kyiv had aimed to receive 4.5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in the fourth installment of the EU's Ukraine Facility, the largest so far, but will instead receive 3.05 billion euros ($3.5 billion). The reduction follows Ukraine's request on June 6 for a partial payout, as Kyiv claimed to have completed 13 of the 16 required reforms.
The funding cuts were announced amid renewed scrutiny on Ukraine's reforms and anti-corruption efforts as President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law dismantling the independence of the nation's top anti-graft agencies. Following swift domestic and international backlash, the law was reversed a week later.
The controversy put Ukraine's path to EU accession at risk, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders holding behind-the-scenes calls with Zelensky to stress the importance of the anti-corruption infrastructure.
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