Brussels, 15/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Friday 12 September, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso announced that the EU could pay €760 million to Ukraine in the coming month. “Two separate macro-financial assistance programmes worth a total of €1.6 billion are currently available to Ukraine. €600 million have already been disbursed and €760 million can be disbursed in the next month, provided some of the conditions are met, notably economic reforms and the fight against corruption”, he announced during a conference in Kiev.
Barroso stated that the reforms linked to the constitution and to decentralisation are “key elements”. “But Ukraine's reform agenda must also be both much deeper and broader. It must go beyond the immediate crisis and help the country to move into the future”, he added. “Ukrainian politicians need to rise to this challenge (…) We hope that the upcoming elections will help boost this reform process”, Barroso stated.
Barroso added that from the €350 million in grants for the State Building programme, €250 million has already been paid. “And we are ready to consider further financial assistance”, he added.
Barroso also stated that the EU was ready to host a donor conference “at the end of the year”.
Elsewhere, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle signed an agreement with Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on 13 September - a €10 million agreement to finance a support programme for civil society in Ukraine. The programme aims “to enhance the role of civil society in promoting and monitoring democratic reforms and inclusive socio-economic development in Ukraine”, according to the Commission press release. The civil society organisations will monitor the reforms agreed under that State Building contract, including the fight against corruption, constitutional reform and reform of the judiciary, Füle adds.
Elections in Crimea. On Monday 15 September, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton stressed that the European Union recognised “neither the legal framework nor the legitimacy” of the local “'elections'” that were held in Crimea and Sevastopol the previous day. She reiterated that the EU continued to condemn the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, and would not recognise it. (CG)