(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)