EU to approve Ukraine reform plan in May, unlocking billions in aid – Bloomberg

The European Union is moving toward approval of Ukraine's reform plan in May, which would unlock an additional EUR1.9 billion in EU financial assistance in late spring. Source: European Pravda, citing Bloomberg The European Commission is examining the reform plan that Ukraine has committed to implement to receive financial aid, but the commission has no serious questions about it. 

EU member states may start approving the plan as early as next month, a person familiar with the matter told the agency.

The EU has planned to allocate almost EUR16 billion to Ukraine this year, part of the EU's EUR50 billion Ukraine Facility for the 2024-2027 period.  Last month, Kyiv submitted a plan containing investment and reform proposals that would gradually unlock most of the EU's aid by 2027. As part of the plan, the European Commission plans to disburse EUR1.5 billion in transitional funding in the second half of April.

The rest of the funding planned for this year will be disbursed in two tranches once the Ukrainian government has implemented the agreed reforms. Among the agreed reforms for the second half of the year are the adoption of a medium-term state debt management strategy, a review of state budget expenditure, and an increase in staff at the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. EU finance ministers are expected to discuss Ukraine's plan on Friday in Luxembourg.

Ukraine has already received the first tranche of EUR4.5 billion of the planned EU financial assistance for this year.

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