EU proposes €8 billion payment to Ukraine after partial reform check

The European Commission has proposed releasing €8.04 billion to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility program. This amount is €264.6 million less than the sum requested by Kyiv. The proposal stems from a document dated October 21 that outlines the progress of the ninth installment of financial assistance.

According to the proposal, Ukraine has met the conditions for partial payment of the fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth installments. The total value before clearing pre-financing is €8,040,665,425. The ninth installment accounts for €7,278,377,268 of this total. The eighth installment is valued at €95,530,669, the seventh at €368,010,368, and the fourth at €298,747,120.

EU sources familiar with the matter indicate that the actual amount payable to Ukraine will be approximately €7.8 billion. This figure reflects deductions for the repayment of previously disbursed pre-financing. A final decision from the Council of the EU is required to approve the payment, which is expected by the end of November.

The Commission assessed 16 of the 18 required steps for the ninth installment as satisfactorily fulfilled. Completed measures include the modernization of the IT system for enforcing court decisions and the approval of the Human Rights Protection Strategy. Ukraine also adopted an anti-human trafficking program and a strategy to reduce state ownership in banks. Additional steps involved investments in education and healthcare for veterans with disabilities and families of fallen soldiers.

Two steps remain outstanding. The first concerns the appointment of supervisory boards with a majority of independent members at state-owned businesses. This requirement is currently met at only 10 of the 15 required companies. The second outstanding step is the adoption of a roadmap for gradually liberalizing gas and electricity markets.

The Commission proposed an additional payment of €529.4 million to account for partial fulfillment of the supervisory board requirement. It also credited Ukraine for the early fulfillment of a step scheduled for the tenth installment, which involved submitting a request for an IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission. Without these adjustments, the gap between the request and the proposal would have been nearly €800 million.

Ukraine received €2.9 billion from the EU on October 2 under the same facility. EU Commissioner Marta Kos called on Ukrainian authorities to unite in exchange for funding.