(ANSA) - BRUSSELS - The Commission's proposal for 1.8 billion
euros of new macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Ukraine has
been formally adopted, with the signatures of the President of
the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and of Zanda
Kalnina-Lukasevica, Parliamentary State Secretary for the
European Affairs of Latvia, on behalf of the Latvian Presidency
of the Council. This follows the European Parliament's positive
vote and Council agreement on the new proposal.
The EU and Ukraine will now have to agree on a Memorandum of
Understanding. The Commission hopes to conclude this process in
the coming weeks, in order to allow for the disbursement of a
first tranche of 600 million euros before the summer break. The
new macro-financial assistance (MFA) comes on top of what the EU
is already contributing in terms of humanitarian and technical
assistance and in terms of project assistance. It will also be
the third MFA programme for Ukraine since 2010.
In the course of 2014, the Commission disbursed 1.36 billion
euros under the previous MFA programmes, with a final tranche of
250 million euros under MFA 1 to be disbursed still this month.
Together the three MFA operations to Ukraine amount to 3.41
billion euros, which represents the largest financial assistance
to a third country in such a short time. (ANSA)
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