On Tuesday 29 May, the national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) approved new macro-financial assistance for Ukraine of €1 billion over a period of two and half years (see EUROPE 11978).
Supplementing an IMF rescue plan, this assistance is in the form of loans and is intended to support the Ukrainian economy while being conditional on the continuation of certain reforms in the country – especially reforms linked to respect of the rule of law and to the fight against corruption.
This is the third time the European Union has given macro-financial assistance to Kiev – following on from its assistance of €1.6 billion in 2014 (see EUROPE 11060) and of €2.81 billion in 2015 (see EUROPE 11240). In January, the payment of a €600 million instalment was cancelled due to the required conditions not being met, the Council says in a press release.
Upon each disbursement of the financial instalments, the European Commission will report publicly on the fulfilment of the conditions, in particular those concerning the prevention of corruption. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)