Sergii Marchenko spoke at a meeting of the EU Council, noting the EU's significant contribution to supporting Ukraine's financial stability during the war
Today, on May 14, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko joined online the meeting of the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).
The event was attended by the Ministers of Economy and Finance of the EU member states as well as representatives of the EU institutions.
The agenda included the current state of Ukraine's financial system, strengthening efforts to overcome the negative economic consequences of russia's war against Ukraine and the implementation of the Ukraine Plan under the EU's Ukraine Facility.
Sergii Marchenko thanked European colleagues for their support since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, which helped to maintain Ukraine's macro-financial stability.
"We have been receiving strong support from the EU in all possible areas. The European Union is the largest donor of budgetary assistance to Ukraine - about EUR 32 billion since February 2022. Over the 10 years of russia's war against Ukraine, the EU's financial support has already reached more than EUR 37 billion. I would also like to highlight the important decision of the EU Council to approve the Ukraine Plan for 2024-2027. This will allow us to attract budgetary, investment and technical assistance totaling EUR 50 billion," the Minister of Finance of Ukraine said.
On May 14, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council approved Ukraine's Plan under the EU's Ukraine Facility for 2024-2027. Thus, the procedure for launching direct budget support under the first component of the Ukraine Facility is almost complete. In the near future, Ukraine will receive EUR 1.9 billion after signing international agreements and taking measures to bring them into force.
"Ukraine has already performed the first five indicators of the Ukraine Plan, which were set for the first quarter of 2024 in the areas of public finance management, anti-corruption, and business environment development. This made it possible to attract EUR 6 billion of Bridge financing under the Ukraine Facility. Moreover, four out of nine indicators for the second quarter were implemented. The Government is committed to implementing the reforms and indicators of the Ukraine Plan. First and foremost, Ukraine needs this for economic growth, macro-financial stability and recovery," emphasized Sergii Marchenko.
The Ukraine Plan is a detailed list of structural reforms and measures. The document includes 151 indicators in 15 areas, including public finance management, anti-money laundering, and financial markets. Fulfillment of the terms of the Ukraine's Plan for the certain period will allow Ukraine to attract a total of EUR 16 billion in 2024, including EUR 3 billion in grants.
The Minister of Finance said that amid a full-scale war, Ukraine continues to keep its economic and financial system stable. Since 2022, inflation has decreased from 26.6% to 3.2% as of April 2024. Tax and customs revenues have returned to pre-war levels. In the first 4 months of 2024, general fund of the State Budget revenues amounted to UAH 624 billion, which is 12% higher than in the same period in 2023.
Sergii Marchenko noted that attracting external funding for social and humanitarian budget expenditures will continue to be critical to ensuring the country's economic and financial stability in 2025. Amid ongoing active hostilities and considerable financial needs, one of the practical solutions should be to use frozen russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.
Most of russia's frozen assets are located in the EU. The Minister of Finance of Ukraine expressed hope for cooperation seeking mechanisms to attract these funds. This will be an effective step to make the aggressor pay for its crimes against Ukraine.