Brussels, 22 November 2022
The Commission has today disbursed the second instalment of €2.5 billion under the €5 billion exceptional macro-financial assistance (MFA) operation for Ukraine. This is part of an MFA package, announced by the Commission in its 18 May Communication and endorsed by the European Council of 23-24 June 2022.
With today’s payment, total MFA support disbursed to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s war has reached €6.7 billion. The funds have been made available to Ukraine in the form of highly concessional loans, with longer-term maturities than under regular MFAs. In a further expression of solidarity, the EU budget will cover the interest costs on these exceptional MFA loans, at least for the current multiannual financial framework. The third and last instalment of €0.5 billion under this exceptional MFA operation is expected to be disbursed in December of this year.
Today’s disbursement comes after a favourable assessment by the Commission of the progress made by Ukraine towards the implementation of the seven structural policy measures agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed on 3 October. These measures aim at strengthening the resilience and economic stability of the country, improving the business climate, reinforcing the rule of law and governance and ensuring the energy security of Ukraine. Ukraine has also complied successfully with the enhanced reporting requirements linked to this exceptional MFA.
The Commission disbursed the first €600 million already in March and another €600 million in May this year, followed by €1 billion in August and €2 billion in October.
In order to continue supporting Ukraine, on 9 November 2022, the Commission proposed the MFA+ support package for Ukraine of up to €18 billion, with stable, regular and predictable financial assistance – averaging €1.5 billion per month – which would help cover a significant part of Ukraine’s short-term funding needs for 2023.