The site is currently in test mode

The CEB intends to strengthen its support for Ukraine's sustainable social development. Meeting of the heads of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Bank

Today, on 18 September, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with the Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) Carlo Monticelli. 

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Finance Olga Zykova. 

The parties discussed the current cooperation between Ukraine and the CEB and the priorities for further work.  

“I am pleased to welcome Carlo Monticelli and his team to Kyiv. This visit is an expression of solidarity and readiness to strengthen the partnership between Ukraine and the Bank. For the second year in a row, we have been actively working on the implementation of joint social projects. Healthcare initiatives and the restoration of housing are important to providing citizens with the necessary services and social support in times of war,” said Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko. 

Ukraine has been a member of the Council of Europe's Development Bank since June 2023, and in November of the same year, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Olga Zykova was appointed as a representative of Ukraine in the Administrative Council of the Bank by the Decree of the President of Ukraine.

“Together with the CEB, we continue to work on strengthening our partnership by introducing new socially important projects. I am convinced that their further preparation and implementation will be successful, primarily due to the CEB's extensive experience in modernising housing programmes and financing mechanisms, as well as the effective and well-coordinated cooperation of the Ukrainian government and the Bank's teams,” Olga Zykova added. 

The first joint project between Ukraine and the Bank is the Health Enhancement and Life-Saving (HEAL), under which a EUR 100 million framework loan agreement was signed. The project is aimed at restoring and improving access to essential healthcare services and providing financial protection to the population in emergency situations. Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of EUR 10 million in the coming days. 

In addition, the "HOME: Compensation for Destroyed Housing"  project is being implemented in cooperation with the Bank. A framework loan agreement worth EUR 100 million was signed as part of the initiative. 

HOME aims to ensure the right to housing for those Ukrainian citizens whose homes were destroyed as a result of hostilities and terrorist attacks by russia. Effective implementation of the project will create the necessary conditions for the return of citizens to the territorial communities affected by the hostilities through the provision of compensation for destroyed housing.

In August 2024, the first tranche under HOME was received in the amount of EUR 70 million. As of the beginning of September 2024, more than 2,000 families have received funds under housing certificates under the project. A second tranche of EUR 30 million is planned by the end of this year.

Carlo Monticelli assured that the CEB intends to support social development, recovery and small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine. 

The report of the CEB Governor for 2023 identified priority areas of interest for the Bank in the coming years. These include support for internally displaced persons and people who were forced to leave Ukraine as a result of russia's armed aggression, as well as for the population affected by natural and environmental disasters.