Decision (EU) 2022/1201 providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine

Summary:

Decision (EU) 2022/1201 - signed by the co-legislators on 12 July 2022 - establishing a new emergency Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme for Ukraine of up to €1 billion.

Further information:

Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) operations are part of the European Union's wider engagement with neighbouring countries and are intended as an exceptional EU crisis response instrument. They are available to EU neighbourhood countries experiencing severe balance-of-payments problems.

The long-term economic development of Ukraine has faced a tremendous challenge ever since Russia decided to invade the country in February 2022. In addition to the human suffering, the war has caused damage to the physical infrastructure and to the residential and communal buildings. The fighting has also caused a massive human exodus. Ukraine has also lost access to the international capital markets as a result. The resulting underlying balance-of-payments funding gap was estimated by the authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reach around $39 billion for 2022.

In order to make a contribution toward financing some of the estimated funding gap, the European Commission announced in May 2022 its intention to propose an exception MFA operation of up to €9 billion to Ukraine. This was endorsed by the European Council in June 2022. This Decision addresses the immediate and most urgent funding needs of Ukraine. The draft law was tabled on 1 July 2022, supported by the provisions available from the EU budget for the External Action Guarantee established under the NDICI-GE. The plenary of the European Parliament endorsed it on 7 July, followed by the Council of the European Union on 12 July. The Act was signed by the co-legislators on that same day and published in the Official Journal on 13 July 2022.

The first half of this MFA operation for Ukraine was disbursed on 1 August 2022.

• Primary Source

Official

EUR-LEX: COM(2022)450: Proposal for a Decision providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2022:450:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (2022/0213(COD)) https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2022/0213(COD)

European Commission: International Economic Relations: Ukraine https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/economic-and-fiscal-policy-coordination/international-economic-relations/enlargement-and-neighbouring-countries/neighbouring-countries-eu/neighbourhood-countries/ukraine_en

European Commission: Press Release, 01/07/2022: European Commission proposes first €1 billion tranche of the new macro-financial assistance for Ukraine https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4264

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 12/07/2022: Council adopts additional €1 billion assistance to Ukraine https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/07/12/council-adopts-additional-1-billion-assistance-to-ukraine/

European Commission: Press Release, 01/08/2022: European Commission disburses first tranche of the new €1 billion macro-financial assistance for Ukraine https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4783

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