European Commission responds to Ukraine's funding request with list of reforms

A letter signed by two European Commissioners has been sent to Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), ahead of the next parliamentary plenary week.

Source: European Pravda

Details: The four-page letter was signed by European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. It contains several tables and a relatively lengthy descriptive section for a document of this type, which takes up two full pages.

The document does not refer to a specific funding shortfall, although President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said there is a "gap" of US$27 billion. European Pravda sources explain that the lack of a specific figure is due to Kyiv not having provided Brussels with a final budget calculation. This is expected to happen in the coming days this week.

However, the EU says it wants to support Ukraine. "At a time when Russia has significantly escalated its attacks, bringing yet more loss and suffering to Ukrainians, our determination to stand by Ukraine is only stronger," the letter says.

Meanwhile, the EU stresses that it expects Ukraine to demonstrate progress on reforms in return, and recalls that under the Ukraine Plan, "over €20 billion in EU financial assistance remains available for disbursement until the end of 2026, subject to the fulfilment of reforms in line with the EU requirements".

A requirement for €8 billion of this amount is the adoption of a number of laws whose drafts have already received EU approval or are undergoing assessment.

"The annex to this letter sets out several priority reforms requiring parliamentary action," the letter says.

Commissioners Dombrovskis and Kos also stressed in the letter that Ukraine should adopt these laws not only to receive the money.

Quote: "The value of these reforms goes beyond access to financing. Fairer and more effective tax and customs systems can secure resources for public services and create a better climate for Ukrainian businesses. Taken together, these reforms will further strengthen the foundations of a resilient, competitive and European Ukraine."

Details: The European Commissioners separately stressed that Ukraine must not backtrack on previously implemented commitments, citing as an example the easing of requirements concerning politically exposed persons (PEPs). The letter does not mention a possible new attack on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), as it was drafted before it began.

In an annex to the letter, the European Commission lists the numbers of the bills that need to be adopted.

It also stresses that the European Commission expects Ukraine to abandon the easing of PEP regulations introduced in draft law No. 15111-d. It also lists 11 reforms for which the final drafts have not yet undergone assessment by the European Commission.

Background:

• The European Commission has not yet calculated the real gap in Ukraine's 2026 budget.
• Unofficial discussions are ongoing about using frozen Russian assets for this purpose.

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