Von der Leyen announced new €1.2 billion macro-financial assistance package for Ukraine

On 24 January, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced a new financial assistance package for Ukraine consisting of both emergency loans and grants. 

First, the Commission proposes a new emergency macro-financial assistance package (MFA) of  €1.2 billion. This will help Ukraine to address its financial needs, caused by the present conflict. 

“We count on the Council and the European Parliament to adopt this emergency MFA as soon as possible. We will then proceed to the rapid disbursement of a first tranche of €600 million. Moreover, we will soon start work on a second, longer-term MFA programme to support the country’s modernisation efforts,” said the President.

Second, the Commission will almost double its bilateral assistance to Ukraine in grants this year, allocating another €120 million. This support will strengthen Ukraine’s state-building and resilience efforts, said von der Leyen.

The President added that the EU will continue to invest in Ukraine’s future through the EU’s special Investment Plan, that aims to leverage over €6 billion in investments. 

Ursula von der Leyen also mentioned that the EU has already provided significant assistance to Ukraine, both to support the country’s resilience and modernisation, and specifically to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2014, the EU and European financial institutions have allocated over 17 billion in grants and loans to the country.