EU cuts Ukraine aid over unfulfilled reforms
A new installment of aid from the European Union's Ukraine Facility will be granted to Kyiv, but in a reduced amount because not all conditions were met, according to Deutsche Welle.
The EU Council announced on Friday, August 8, that Ukraine will receive the fourth tranche of 3.2 billion euros as part of the European Ukraine Facility support mechanism. As the EU reminded, funding through this program is primarily intended to strengthen Ukraine's macro-financial stability and support the functioning of its governing institutions.
The Ukraine Facility mechanism is set to run from 2024–2027, allowing the European Union to provide Ukraine with up to 50 billion euros in "stable and predictable" financial aid, according to the European Commission's website.
To date, the EU has allocated 6 billion euros to Ukraine as bridge financing, 1.89 billion euros as an advance, and three tranches worth 4.2 billion, 4.1 billion, and 3.5 billion euros, the EU Council recalled.
The European Commission emphasizes that payments under the Ukraine Facility are closely linked to Ukraine's implementation of a concrete plan for reconstruction and reforms, as well as its support for democratic mechanisms, the rule of law, and human rights. Payments to Ukraine are made quarterly, following verification by the European Commission that the conditions have been met.
The request for the tranche approved on Friday was submitted by Kyiv on June 6. According to the EU, following the assessment of the request, the Council concluded that Ukraine has "satisfactorily fulfilled a number of reforms," including "reforms of public administration, state asset management, human capital, decentralization and regional policy, the green transition, the digital and agri-food sectors, as well as the management of critical raw materials."
European Commission representative Guillaume Mercier stated at the end of July that the next installment from the EU's Ukraine Facility would be a reduced amount—3.05 billion euros instead of 4.5 billion. The reason cited was the failure to implement three required reforms from the list. According to Mercier, one of these concerns decentralization, another the law on the ARMA reform (Asset Recovery and Management Agency—ed. note), and the third the process of selecting judges for Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court.
"The Commission has assessed that 13 reforms have been completed and is proposing to the EU Council to make a payment of 3.05 billion euros to Ukraine as the fourth tranche under the Ukraine Facility," said Guillaume Mercier, according to Deutsche Welle.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
