Brussels, 28/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 November, Ukraine and the European Union signed a financing agreement to launch a new support programme for Ukraine's regional policy.
This programme, which will support the Ukrainian reforms on decentralisation and regional policy, has a budget of €55 million. It will support the implementation of the 2020 strategy for Ukraine's regional development, approved by the Ukrainian government on 6 August 2014. This strategy has three objectives: the competitiveness of regions, socio-economic territorial cohesion, and effective regional development governance.
The support will be translated by the improvement of legislation on regional policy, the supply of stable and predictable funding for the regions and municipalities, strengthened financial autonomy for the local authorities, greater regional competitiveness of regions, and the improvement of territorial socio-economic territorial cohesion. The funding is to be paid to the Ukrainian state budget in four instalments between 2015 and 2018.
Hahn calls for reforms to continue. During his visit to Ukraine, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn also called for the reforms to be continued. “Ukraine must be ready to take ownership of the reforms. Now it's time to deliver”, he stated during a press conference. He highlighted in particular the way the judicial system works, decentralisation, the protection of minorities, the fight against corruption, a good public administration and an efficient energy sector. Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was returned to leading the government on Thursday 27 November, during the inaugural session of the new parliament.
Hahn stated that he wanted to return to Ukraine at least once every three months “to follow the process of concrete implementation of the reform agenda”.
Questioned on the donors conference announced in June by the previous president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, Hahn said that he would prefer an investors conference. He said that a concrete date would be set when there was a roadmap on the reforms and when there were the first tangible results.
EU adopts new sanctions against separatists. Elsewhere, on Friday 28 November, the EU officially adopted restrictive measures, against 13 separatists and 5 entities involved in actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity (see EUROPE 11206). They will all be subject to an assets freeze and visa ban in the EU. The measures will take effect on Saturday 29 November at the time of their publication in the Official Journal of the EU. With this new decision, 132 people and 28 entities are now subject to sanctions due to the Ukrainian crisis. (CG)