Making available of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance
1. The Union shall make available to Ukraine exceptional macro-financial assistance of a maximum amount of EUR 5 000 000 000 (the ‘Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance’) with a view to supporting Ukraine’s macro-financial stability. The Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall be provided to Ukraine in the form of loans. It shall contribute to covering Ukraine’s financing gap as identified in cooperation with international financial institutions.
2. In order to finance the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance, the Commission shall be empowered, on behalf of the Union, to borrow the necessary funds on the capital markets or from financial institutions and to on-lend them to Ukraine. The loans provided under paragraph 1 of this Article and under Decision (EU) 2022/1201 shall together have a maximum average maturity of 25 years.
3. The Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall be made available starting on the day after the entry into force of the MoU referred to in Article 3(1) and during the availability period set out therein, even if the guarantees set out in Chapter II, Section 1, of this Decision have not yet been provided.
4. If the financing needs of Ukraine decrease fundamentally during the period of the disbursement of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance compared to the initial projections, the Commission shall reduce the amount of the assistance, suspend it or cancel it.
Precondition for the Union’s macro-financial assistance
1. A precondition for granting the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall be that Ukraine respect effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system, and the rule of law, and guarantee respect for human rights.
2. The Commission shall monitor the fulfilment of the precondition set out in paragraph 1 throughout the life-cycle of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance, in particular before disbursements are made, also taking into account the circumstances in Ukraine and the consequences of the application there of martial law.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply in accordance with Council Decision 2010/427/EU ( 12 ) .
Memorandum of Understanding
1. The Commission shall agree with Ukraine on policy conditions to which the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance is to be linked. The policy conditions shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2). Those policy conditions shall be set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (the ‘MoU’).
2. The reporting requirements that were adopted under Decision (EU) 2022/1201 shall be included in the MoU and shall ensure, in particular, the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the use of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance.
3. The detailed financial terms of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall be laid down in a loan agreement to be concluded between the Commission and Ukraine.
4. The Commission shall verify, at regular intervals, the implementation of the reporting requirements and the progress made towards fulfilling the policy conditions set out in the MoU. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council about the results of that verification.
Release of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance
1. Subject to the requirements referred to in paragraph 3, the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall be made available by the Commission in instalments, each of which shall consist of a loan. The Commission shall decide on the timeframe for the disbursement of each instalment. An instalment may be disbursed in one or more tranches.
2. The release of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall be managed by the Commission in a manner consistent with the MoU.
3. The Commission shall decide on the release of the instalments subject to its assessment of the following requirements:
(a)
respect for the precondition set out in Article 2(1);
(b)
the satisfactory implementation of the reporting requirements agreed in the MoU;
(c)
for the second and subsequent instalments, satisfactory progress towards the implementation of the policy conditions set out in the MoU.
Before the maximum amount of the Union’s macro-financial assistance is disbursed, the Commission shall verify the fulfilment of all the policy conditions set out in the MoU.
4. Where the requirements set out in paragraph 3 are not met, the Commission shall temporarily suspend or cancel the disbursement of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance. In such cases, it shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the reasons for the suspension or cancellation.
5. The Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance shall in principle be disbursed to the National Bank of Ukraine. Subject to the provisions to be agreed in the MoU, including a confirmation of residual budgetary financing needs, the Union funds may be disbursed to the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance as the final beneficiary.
Borrowing and lending operations
1. The borrowing and lending operations shall be carried out in accordance with Article 220 of the Financial Regulation.
2. Where necessary, by derogation from Article 220(2) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission may roll over the associated borrowings contracted on behalf of the Union.
Interest rate subsidy
1. By derogation from Article 220(5), point (e), of the Financial Regulation, the Union may bear interest by granting an interest rate subsidy and covering administrative costs related to the borrowing and lending, with the exception of costs related to early repayment of the loan, in respect of the loans under this Decision.
2. Ukraine may request the interest rate subsidy and coverage of the administrative costs by the Union by the end of March of each year.
3. The financial envelope referred to in Article 6(2), point (a), first indent, of Regulation (EU) 2021/947 shall be used to cover the costs of interest payments related to the Union’s macro-financial assistance during the period of the multiannual financial framework 2021–2027 as an interest rate subsidy.
Information to the European Parliament and to the Council
The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of developments regarding the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance, including disbursements thereof, and developments in the operations referred to in Article 5(2), and shall provide those institutions with the relevant documents in due time.
Assessment of implementation of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance
During the implementation of the Union’s exceptional macro-financial assistance, the Commission shall re-assess, by means of an operational assessment, the soundness of Ukraine’s financial arrangements, the administrative procedures, and the internal and external control mechanisms which are relevant to the assistance. That operational assessment may be conducted together with the operational assessment provided for under Decision (EU) 2022/1201.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
