The European Parliament voted to support new MFA for Ukraine, conditioned on anticorruption deliverables
European Parliament informs that a €1 billion macro-financial loan to help Ukraine cover part of its external financing needs in 2018-2019 was approved by Parliament on Wednesday, June 13.
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€1 billion loan to cover an external financing gap in 2018-2019
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To be disbursed in two instalments over 2.5 years, provided Ukraine takes certain policy measures
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Parliament insists that Ukraine must take tough anti-corruption measures, including setting up of an anti-corruption court before disbursement
MEPs agreed to an EU Commission proposal to provide Kiev with another package of macro-financial assistance (MFA), which is an exceptional emergency resource for EU neighbourhood countries struggling to pay their bills.
They nevertheless insisted that Parliament, the Council, and the Commission issue a joint statement on policy conditions that Ukraine must fulfil, due to concerns over the pace of reforms and the fight against corruption in the country.
This statement, annexed to the decision, stresses that as a precondition for granting the loan, Ukraine must respect effective democratic mechanisms – including a multi-party parliamentary system – the rule of law, and human rights. It also underlines that the use of the EU aid must help reduce poverty and create jobs in Ukraine.
MEPs also insist that the loan is conditional upon progress in fighting corruption, and in particular, the setting up of a specialised anti-corruption court in line with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission recommendations. (Ukraine’s parliament voted on 7 June to set up this court).
The Commission and the European External Action Service are to check that these preconditions are met throughout the process, and make their findings public. If they are not met, then the Commission should temporarily suspend or cancel disbursement, say MEPs.
The resolution was backed by 527 votes to 124, with 29 abstentions.
MEPs Dariusz Rosati, Jaroslaw Walesa and Michael Gahler stressed:
“Today’s vote of the Parliament in favour of further macrofinancial assistance to Ukraine, amounting to up to 1 billion euro, is not only an illustration of our solidarity with our neighbour Ukraine but also a strong recognition of the important reform efforts undertaken in this country since 2014. We will be very attentive, in the coming weeks, to the steps taken to make the High Anti-Corruption Court become reality – starting with the law on the establishment of the court and the amendments to the law on judiciary and the status of judges. We will also look closely at the appointment of members of the Central Electoral Commission and we repeat our call to cancel e-declaration requirement for anti-corruption activists. Further macro-financial assistance is conditional upon the respect of effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law and human rights as well as progress in the fight against corruption, as recalled in our joint statement with Council and Commission.”