THE EU’s RESPONSE TO THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression, the EU, Member States and the European Financial Institutions, in a Team Europe approach, are making available over €98 billion in financial, humanitarian, emergency budget, and military support to Ukraine.

The Commission has allocated €860 million for humanitarian aid programmes in Ukraine to be implemented by humanitarian partners on the ground. In line with the priorities of the Ukrainian government, the EU humanitarian assistance provides shelter, cash support, healthcare, food assistance, education, and water and sanitation. In addition, over 145,000 tonnes of in-kind assistance with an estimated value of over €798 million has been delivered to Ukraine from EU Member States and partners via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

This includes, via the rescEU emergency stockpiles, over €127 million worth of shelter, energy, medical and specialised equipment for public health risks such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats for Ukraine.

More than €110 million has been provided by the EU and Member States for humanitarian demining including 21.5 million from the EU budget.

The EU has also successfully coordinated over 3,100 medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients to provide them with specialised healthcare in hospitals across Europe.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has offered over 5,900 power generators to Ukraine. Further 2,500 generators have been delivered via a repurposed cooperation programme. The EU has also delivered 35 million LED light bulbs for Ukraine.

Since the start of the war, the EU has worked to support safe access of children to education in Ukraine with €100 million. Furthermore, thanks to €14 million from the European Commission and an EU-wide solidarity campaign, more than 380 school buses have been donated.

€11.1 billion were mobilised under the European Peace Facility to support the delivery of military equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, thanks to €362 million of financial support, the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine is tackling urgent and longer-term training needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has trained so far close to 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers. EU military support for Ukraine – provided by the European Peace Facility and the Member States individually – is over €33.1 billion.

Ukraine is a priority partner of the European Union. The EU supports Ukraine to ensure a stable, prosperous and democratic future for all its citizens, and is unwavering in its support for Ukraine’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The signing of the Association Agreement in 2014, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) opened a new chapter in EU-Ukraine relations. The implementation of the Agreement means closer cooperation in the sphere of politics and security, and the gradual economic integration of Ukraine into the EU single market. The agreement also offers a roadmap for reforms in Ukraine, including the introduction of European standards and best practices, the rapprochement of Ukrainian and EU citizens, and the creation of conditions for Ukrainian companies to compete on European and global markets. The fight against corruption, reform of the judiciary, constitutional reform and electoral law reform, improvement of the business and investment climate, energy efficiency as well as public administration reform and decentralisation are among the key items on this agenda.

To help Ukraine in this, the EU and European financial institutions have attracted more than EUR 17 billion in grants and loans since 2014 to stabilise Ukraine’s economy, support comprehensive reforms and improve the lives of its citizens.

On 23 June 2022, the European Council decided to recognise the European perspective of Ukraine and decided to grant the status of candidate country to Ukraine.

Following the recommendation from the Commission, in December 2023 the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine.

Ukraine and the EU #ForwardTogether