THE EU’s RESPONSE TO THE WAR IN UKRAINE

The EU stands united in its unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression and its illegal attempts to annex Ukrainian territory.

The EU continues to work relentlessly with international partners to make sure Ukraine receives the material support it needs and to hold Russia accountable for its actions.

The EU has also offered temporary protection to over four million people fleeing the war and is committed to continue providing strong political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes.

The EU opened accession negotiations with Ukraine.

The EU has established a dedicated financing instrument of up to €50 billion to provide predictable and flexible support to Ukraine for the period 2024-2027 to support its recovery, reconstruction and modernisation, in line with its EU path. The Ukraine Facility is operational since 1 March 2024.

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 almost €124 billion in financial, humanitarian, emergency budget, and military support to Ukraine.

The Commission has allocated €950 million for humanitarian aid programmes in Ukraine to be implemented by partners on the ground. In line with the priorities of the Ukrainian government, EU humanitarian assistance provides shelter, cash support, healthcare, food assistance, education, water and sanitation. In addition, more than 152 000 tonnes of in-kind assistance have been delivered to Ukraine from EU Member States and partners via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. This includes over €157 million via the rescEU emergency stockpiles in the form of shelter, energy, medical and specialised equipment for public health risks (such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats) and private donations under rescEU.

More than €320 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 coordinated over 3 800 medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients to provide them with specialised healthcare in hospitals across Europe.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has offered over 8 400 power generators to Ukraine. Further 2 500 generators have been delivered via a repurposed cooperation programme. To reduce the strain on the energy system, the EU has also delivered 35 million LED light bulbs for Ukraine.

At least €2 billion of support for energy security has already been provided to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, via the Ukraine Energy Support Fund and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, among others. The EU is making available an additional amount of close to €160 million to support Ukraine’s energy security for the winter.

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. The Commission also delivered 1.5 million textbooks to students.

The EU and its Member States have mobilised €45.5 billion in military support for Ukraine, including €6.1 billion under the European Peace Facility. In addition, the EU has allocated €5 billion through the Ukraine Assistance Fund under the European Peace Facility. The EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine is tackling training needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has trained close to 60 000 Ukrainian soldiers.

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