On Wednesday 13 April, the EU Council approved a recommendation on exchanging Ukrainian hryvnia banknotes into EU currencies to help people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The non-binding recommendation, to be adopted in the coming days by written procedure, calls on the Member States to set up national systems that would allow the conversion of hryvnias under similar conditions throughout the EU. These systems would allow displaced persons from Ukraine, including children, to exchange up to 10,000 hryvnias (about 310 euros) per person.
The exchange would be free of charge and would take place at the official exchange rate published by the National Bank of Ukraine. The duration of these programmes would be at least 3 months.
On 1 April, the Commission recommended that national arrangements be put in place to convert hryvnias into national currencies free of charge (see EUROPE 12924/5). Following the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian Central Bank suspended currency trading to protect its foreign exchange reserves. European banks were reluctant to accept hryvnia notes from Ukrainian refugees. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)