EU and Ukrainian ties have been in place for about 30 years, and today are closer than ever.
In June 2022, Ukraine was granted the status of a candidate for EU membership.
The EU stands side by side with the Ukrainians since the very beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression.
Billions of euros and quick solutions provide effective EU support to the Ukrainian state, economy, society and the Armed Forces.
The EU has been Ukraine’s largest donor for decades and provides assistance focused on economic and social development, and a wide range of reforms and people-to-people contacts. It can take the form of direct financial support to the Government, technical assistance and grants, loans from the European financial institutions or access to EU programmes such as Erasmus+, Horizon Europe or Creative Europe. In total, EU assistance alone after 2014 reaches over EUR 17 billion. The EU is Ukraine’s largest trading partner.
Since 2017 relations are based on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which provides the foundations for political and economic approximation between the EU and Ukraine. The benefits of this relationship include a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which opens the EU market to Ukrainian business and products.
In June 2022, the European Union abolished import duties on Ukrainian goods for one year.
Since 11 June 2017, visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens are in full force.
You can find more on EU-Ukraine relations here.
This website provides detailed information on EU support and highlights the impact on the ground.
An overview of the impact this assistance is providing can be found here.