Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (2ndL) and European Commissioner for An Economy that Works for People Valdis Dombrovskis sign a macro-financial assistance agreement at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, on July 23, 2020.
The European Union has approved 600 million euros in macrofinancial assistance for Ukraine. It’s money that couldn’t come too soon: Kyiv desperately needs help to plug a more than Hr 100 billion ($3.6 billion) hole in the national budget.
However, by being unconditional, the aid may send a questionable signal to Ukrainian officials about the country’s pace of reforms. Un-reformed Ukrainian courts recently delivered a potentially deadly blow to the country’s anti-corruption bodies. This provoked sharp criticism from European officials.
