(Bloomberg) — The European Union is moving toward approval of Ukraine’s reform plan in May, which would unlock an additional €1.9 billion ($2 billion) as part of a total €15.9 billion that the bloc has planned in financial aid for Kyiv for this year.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, is examining the plan but no major issues have been raised and member states could proceed to their approval as early as next month, a person familiar with the matter said.
The green light of the Ukraine plan would pave the way for future payments once the framework agreement with Kyiv is signed and the audit board is established, which is expected to happen by May, a commission spokesperson said.
The nearly €16 billion planned for 2024 are part of the €50 billion Ukraine Facility that the bloc put together to support Kyiv financially for the 2024-2027 period. Kyiv submitted a plan last month containing investment and reform proposals that would gradually unlock most of the EU aid by 2027, once a series of milestones and targets are met.
As part of the plan, the commission will also disburse €1.5 billion as bridge financing in the second half of this month.
The remaining funding planned for this year would be disbursed in two payment requests once the Ukrainian government meets the agreed reforms.
Some of the changes agreed to for the second half of the year are the adoption of the medium-term state debt management strategy and spending reviews of the state budget or increasing the workforce of the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, according to the plan.
The EU finance ministers are expected to discuss Ukraine’s recovery plan on Friday in Luxembourg.
“We are making progress in the right direction, both in terms of the provision of European funds and the use of Russian frozen assets,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told reporters ahead of a meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday. “Ukraine is the first line of defense also to European territory and European values.”
(Updates with comment starting in paragraph three)
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