Europarlementariërs keuren lening van 500 miljoen euro aan Oekraïne goed (en)
Ukraine will be eligible for an EU i loan of up to €500 million to help it through the financial crisis, following a vote at the European Parliament on Tuesday.
A maximum of €500 million EU loan will be available to Ukraine for 30 months, after MEPs approved - by 604 votes to 37, with 16 abstentions - a compromise reached between the EU institutions. The loan, due to be repaid within 15 years, would help Kiev to finance its balance-of-payments deficit and meet its budgetary needs.
This money will supplement IMF i support and the €110 million in EU macro-financial assistance already granted in 2002.
Parliament insisted that the lending conditions for the assistance must ensure better efficiency, transparency and accountability. Progress must be regularly assessed by the Commission, and Parliament must be briefed on how the assistance is managed.
The macro-financial assistance, MEPs believe, can only contribute to economic stabilisation if the main Ukrainian political forces ensure political stability and support rigorous implementation of the necessary structural reforms.
In November 2009, Parliament gave its backing for macro-financial support to Serbia (€200 million in the form of a loan), Bosnia and Herzegovina (€100 million, loan), Armenia (€65 million loan and €35 million grant), and Georgia (€46 million, grant).