EU sets conditions for the provision of 600 million Euros to Kiev
The European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, stated on the 21st of April that the European Union has expressed its readiness to provide the second tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. It is about 600 million Euros. At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine has to fulfill certain conditions in order to receive the money.
According to Hahn, it is first necessary to make every effort in the fight against corruption, in particular, to appoint a new Prosecutor General, who is ready for the implementation of reforms in the justice system and also the creation of a national agency to identify, trace and manage assets secured as a result of corruption crimes.
All these things should be done during the first 100 days of work for the new Ukrainian Government. In addition, Ukraine has to adopt legislation in the energy sector and undertake steps on trade liberalization and lift the phytosanitary barriers and the ban on the export of wood. Hahn stated that developing constructive dialogue with the International Monetary Fund is another condition.
The European Commissioner noted that the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement has provisionally come into effect despite the results of the referendum in the Netherlands where the document has yet to be ratified. Hahn confirmed the possibility of cooperation between Kiev and Brussels under present conditions.
The Memorandum on obtaining macro-financial assistance by Ukraine from the European Union in the total amount of 1.8 billion Euros was signed by the parties on the 22nd of May 2015. In July 2015, Kiev received the first tranche in the amount of 600 million Euros.