Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility

The Steering Board shall comprise representatives of the Commission and of each Member State. Ukrainian authorities shall be invited to attend Steering Board meetings as appropriate. The European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada shall have observer status. Counterparts implementing the Ukraine Guarantee and financial instruments supported by the Ukraine Investment Framework, may be given observer status. The Commission shall chair the Steering Board.

The Steering Board shall provide strategic and operational guidance and support to the Commission on different aspects including risk profiles, the form of support, the design of financial products to be deployed, and on non-eligible sectors. It shall formulate opinions on the use of Union support through the Ukraine Guarantee, financial instruments and blending operations including the concessionality levels, taking into account the relevant risk assessments. The Steering Board shall, where possible, adopt opinions by consensus.

The Commission shall ensure that Union support provided under the Ukraine Investment Framework is consistent with the Ukraine Plan and contributes to its implementation, and is complementary to Union support to Ukraine granted under other Union programmes and instruments, taking into account the promotion of corporate social responsibility and responsible business conduct, in particular by respecting internationally agreed guidelines, principles and conventions on investment.

At least 15 % of the guarantees provided under the Ukraine Investment Framework shall be used to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC, including start-ups, including through financial tools which have as an objective to reduce the risk involved in the lending operations of Ukrainian banks.

For the purpose of Article 209(2), point (h), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the requirement on ex ante evaluations of financial instruments and budgetary guarantees shall be met by the positive assessments of the Ukraine Plan by the Commission, referred to in Article 19(1) of this Regulation.

The support under the Ukraine Investment Framework shall in particular serve the implementation of the Ukraine Plan while complementing the financing sources established by this Regulation.

At least 20 % of the overall amount corresponding to support under the Ukraine Investment Framework and to investments under the Ukraine Plan shall contribute, to the extent possible in a war-torn country, to climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental protection, including biodiversity conservation, and to the green transition.

The Commission shall report annually on the implementation of the support under the Ukraine Investment Framework in accordance with Article 41(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. For that purpose, each counterpart of the Ukraine Guarantee and each entrusted entity implementing financial instruments shall provide on an annual basis the information necessary to allow the Commission to comply with its reporting obligations.

Member States, third countries, and third parties may contribute to the Ukraine Guarantee, and to the financial instruments set up under the Ukraine Investment Framework. Contributions to the Ukraine Guarantee shall be made in accordance with Article 218(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

The contributions to the Ukraine Guarantee shall increase the amount of the Ukraine Guarantee without leading to additional contingent liabilities for the Union.

For all contributions referred to in paragraph 1, a contribution agreement shall be concluded between the Commission, on behalf of the Union, and the contributor. It shall contain, in particular, provisions concerning the payment conditions. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council simultaneously and without delay of the concluded contribution agreements.

The Ukraine Guarantee and financial instruments supported under the Ukraine Investment Framework shall be implemented in indirect management pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

The eligible counterparts for the purposes of the Ukraine Guarantee and the eligible entrusted entities for the purpose of financial instruments shall be those identified in Article 208(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, including those from third countries contributing to the Ukraine Guarantee in accordance with Article 29 of this Regulation. In addition, by way of derogation from Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, bodies governed by private law of a Member State, or a third country which has contributed to the Ukraine Guarantee in accordance with Article 29 of this Regulation, and which provide adequate assurance of their financial and operational capacity shall be eligible for the purpose of the Ukraine Guarantee.

The Commission shall ensure the effective, efficient, needs-based and fair use of available resources among eligible counterparts and, where relevant, eligible entrusted entities, in an inclusive approach, while promoting cooperation between them and taking due account of their capacities, added value, experience and risk-taking capacity.

The Commission shall ensure a fair and transparent treatment for all eligible counterparts and all eligible entrusted entities and shall ensure that conflicts of interest are avoided throughout the implementation period of the Ukraine Investment Framework. In order to ensure complementarity, the Commission may request relevant information from eligible counterparts for the purpose of the Ukraine Guarantee or from eligible entrusted entities for the purpose of financial instruments about their non-EU-supported operations.

The Ukraine Guarantee of EUR 7 800 000 000 in current prices shall be established to guarantee operations supporting the objectives of the Facility. The Ukraine Guarantee shall be independent of and autonomous from the External Action Guarantee and shall be granted as an irrevocable, unconditional and on demand guarantee in accordance with Article 219(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

The Ukraine Guarantee shall be used to cover risks for the following types of operations aiming at supporting sovereign, sub-sovereign, non-commercial and commercial entities, and the private sector:

On behalf of the Union, the Commission shall conclude with eligible counterparts Ukraine Guarantee agreements until 31 December 2027. The Ukraine Guarantee may be granted gradually.

When concluding Ukraine Guarantee agreements, the Commission shall take due account of the advice and guidance of the technical risk assessment group referred to in Article 33(8) of Regulation (EU) 2021/947 and of the Steering Board.

The Ukraine Guarantee agreements shall contain, in particular:

The EIB Group shall implement operations in Ukraine, aiming at supporting Ukrainian sovereign entities and non-commercial sub-sovereign entities, covered with an indicative dedicated minimum amount of the Ukraine Guarantee of 25 % of the amount referred to in paragraph 1, which shall be granted in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Regulation.

The dedicated amount of the Ukraine Guarantee referred to in paragraph 6 shall be available for supporting EIB Group operations which have been approved by the relevant EIB Group Board by 31 December 2025. After that date, the remaining dedicated amount of the Ukraine Guarantee shall be available for all types of operations referred to in paragraph 6 to all eligible counterparts subject to paragraph 3.

The Commission may use up to 30 % of the amount referred in paragraph 1 of this Article to increase the amounts of the guarantee provided through External Action Guarantee agreements concluded pursuant to Article 38 of Regulation (EU) 2021/947 subject to the following:

The eligible counterpart shall approve financing and investment operations in accordance with its own rules and procedures and in compliance with the Ukraine Guarantee agreement.

The maximum period allowed for eligible counterparts to sign contracts with financial intermediaries or final recipients shall be three years after the conclusion of the relevant Ukraine Guarantee agreement, with possible extensions when an additional amount of guarantee is granted and the Ukraine Guarantee agreement is amended.

The Ukraine Guarantee may cover:

For the purposes of the Commission’s accounting and its annual reporting of the risks covered by the Ukraine Guarantee to the European Parliament and the Council, and in accordance with Article 209(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, eligible counterparts with which a Ukraine Guarantee agreement has been concluded shall provide the Commission and the European Court of Auditors annually with the financial statements, audited by an independent external auditor, containing, among others, information on:

The condition set out in Article 219(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 on contributions with own resources shall apply to each eligible counterpart allocated with a budgetary guarantee under the Ukraine Investment Framework on a portfolio basis.

The European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) risk management framework referred to in Article 33(7) of Regulation (EU) 2021/947, including the technical risk assessment group referred to in Article 33(8) of that Regulation, shall apply to the Ukraine Guarantee taking into account the objectives and principles of the Facility. The risk assessments for the Ukraine Guarantee shall be independent from the risk assessments of the EFSD+. The overall risk profile of operations covered by the Ukraine Guarantee may be different from the overall risk profile of the External Action Guarantee. The Commission shall ensure that the risk entailed by the guaranteed operations does not exceed the capacity of the Union budget to bear those risks as determined by the available budgetary resources and the provisioning rate referred to in Article 32(1) of this Regulation. In the framework of the reporting referred to in Article 28(10) of this Regulation, the Commission shall report annually on measures taken in this regard to the European Parliament and the Council.

The provisioning rate for the Ukraine Guarantee shall initially be 70 %.

The provisioning rate shall be reviewed at least once a year following the entry into force of this Regulation. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the outcome of that review.

The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 41 of this Regulation to amend the provisioning rate while applying the criteria set out in Article 211(2) of the Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, and, where relevant, to increase or decrease the maximum amount of the Ukraine Guarantee referred to in Article 31(1) of this Regulation by up to 30 %. The Commission may only increase the maximum amount of the Ukraine Guarantee if the provisioning rate is decreased. Without prejudice to Article 31(3) of this Regulation, the Commission may provide that the increased amount of the Ukraine Guarantee shall be available for signature of guarantee agreements gradually over three years.

By way of derogation from Article 213 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the effective provisioning rate shall not apply to the provisioning set aside in the common provisioning fund in respect of the Ukraine Guarantee.

In view of possible grievances of third parties, including communities and individuals affected by projects supported by the Ukraine Guarantee, the Commission and the Union delegation in Ukraine shall publish on their websites direct references to the complaints mechanisms of the relevant counterparts that have concluded Ukraine Guarantee agreements with the Commission. The Commission shall also provide the possibility of directly receiving complaints related to the treatment of grievances by eligible counterparts. The Commission shall take information received through any complaints mechanisms into account in view of future cooperation with those counterparts.

Whenever possible, taking into account the protection of confidential and commercially sensitive information, the Commission shall publish on its web portal information on financing and investment operations and the essential elements of the Ukraine Guarantee agreements, including information on the legal identity of eligible counterparts, expected development benefits and complaints procedures.

In accordance with their transparency policies and Union rules on data protection and on access to documents and information, eligible counterparts shall make publicly available on their websites information relating to all financing and investment operations covered by the Ukraine Guarantee, in particular information relating to the manner in which those operations contribute to the achievement of the objectives and requirements of this Regulation. Where possible, such information shall be broken down at project level. Such information shall take into account the protection of confidential and commercially sensitive information. Eligible counterparts shall also publicise Union support in all information that they publish on financing and investment operations covered by the Ukraine Guarantee in accordance with this Regulation.

Assistance under this Chapter shall support Ukraine in attaining the objectives set out in Article 3. In particular, assistance provided under this Chapter shall aim to support Ukraine’s progressive alignment to the Union acquis with a view to future Union membership, thereby contributing to mutual stability, security, peace and prosperity. Such support shall include strengthening of the rule of law, including the independence of judiciary, democracy, the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the fight against corruption, reinforcing of the effectiveness of public administration, institutional capacities, decentralisation, supporting transparency, structural reforms, sectoral policies and good governance at all levels, and contributing to the implementation of the Ukraine Plan.

Assistance under this Chapter shall also be provided to ensure that capacities of stakeholders, including social partners, civil society organisations and local and regional authorities, are strengthened, including through twinning and town twinning, as well as through the promotion of peer-to-peer cooperation and programs embedded in partnerships between cities and regions in the Union and those in Ukraine, where relevant.

Assistance under this Chapter shall also strengthen capacities for conflict prevention, peacebuilding and address pre- and post-crisis needs, including through, confidence-building measures and processes that promote justice, truth-seeking, comprehensive post-conflict rehabilitation for an inclusive, peaceful society, as well as collection of evidence of crimes committed during the war. Funding for initiatives and bodies involved in supporting and enforcing international justice in Ukraine may be provided under this Chapter.

Assistance under this Chapter shall support the creation and strengthening of Ukrainian authorities responsible for ensuring appropriate use of funds, audit and an effective fight against mismanagement of public funding, in particular fraud, all forms of corruption including high-level corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities incurred in relation to any amount spent to achieve the objectives of the Facility, as well as to support deoligarchisation efforts.

The borrowing costs subsidy referred to in Article 23 shall be funded under this Chapter.

For the years 2024 to 2027, the support under this Chapter shall fund:

In implementing the Facility, the Commission and Ukraine shall take all the appropriate measures to protect the financial interests of the Union, taking into account the principle of proportionality and the specific conditions under which the Facility will operate, the precondition set out in Article 5(1) and conditions set out in the Framework Agreement and specific financing or loan agreements, in particular regarding the prevention, detection and correction of fraud, corruption, or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union, conflicts of interest and irregularities, as well as the investigation and prosecution of offences affecting the funds provided under the Facility. Ukraine shall commit to progressing towards effective and efficient internal control systems and ensure that amounts wrongly paid or incorrectly used can be recovered. Ukraine shall also commit to ensure that the competent Ukrainian authorities treat, without delay, mutual legal assistance requests and extradition requests by the EPPO and Member States’ competent authorities concerning criminal offences affecting the funds under the Facility.

The agreements referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 22 shall provide for the obligations of Ukraine:

The Commission shall strive to make available to Ukraine an integrated and interoperable information and monitoring system including a single data-mining and risk-scoring tool to access and analyse the relevant data, in compliance with Union data protection principles and with applicable data protection rules, including the data listed in paragraph 2, point (e). Where such a system is available, Ukraine shall use and feed the relevant data into the system, including with assistance granted under Chapter V.

The agreements referred to in Articles 9, 10 and 22 shall also provide for the right of the Commission to reduce proportionately the support provided under the Facility and recover any amount spent to achieve the objectives of the Facility or to ask for early repayment of the loan, in cases of irregularities, fraud, corruption or conflicts of interest affecting the financial interests of the Union that have not been corrected by Ukraine, or of a serious breach of an obligation resulting from such agreements. When deciding on the amount of the recovery and reduction, or the amount to be repaid early, the Commission shall respect the principle of proportionality and shall take into account the seriousness of the irregularity, fraud, corruption or conflict of interest affecting the financial interests of the Union, or of a breach of an obligation. Ukraine shall be given the opportunity to present its observations before the reduction is made or early repayment is requested.

Persons and entities implementing funds provided under the Facility shall report any suspected or actual cases, of fraud, corruption, conflict of interest and irregularities or any other illegal activities affecting financial interests of the Union without delay, to the Audit Board referred to in Article 36, the Commission, OLAF, and, where applicable, the EPPO. Those persons and entities shall be able to effectively report those cases through appropriate channels.

The Commission shall establish an Audit Board before the submission of the first payment request by Ukraine.

The Audit Board shall be composed of independent members appointed by the Commission. Representatives of Member States and other donors may be invited by the Commission to participate in the activities of the Audit Board. Other donors contributing to the Facility may be invited by the Commission to appoint observers to the Audit Board.

The Audit Board shall exercise its functions in complete objectivity and operate in compliance with best applicable international practices and standards. It shall act without prejudice to the powers of the Commission, OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and the EPPO.

The Audit Board shall ensure regular dialogue and cooperation with the European Court of Auditors, as well as with the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine and other institutions, as relevant.

In carrying out their duties, the Audit Board, its members and its staff shall neither seek nor take instructions from the Ukrainian government or any institution, body, office or agency. Strong guarantees of independence shall apply for the selection of its staff, management and budget.

The Audit Board shall assist the Commission in fighting mismanagement of Union funding under the Facility and, in particular fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities incurred in relation to any amount spent to achieve the objectives of the Facility.

For that purpose, the Audit Board shall regularly report to the Commission, and transmit to the Commission without delay any information it obtains or is made aware of, on any identified cases of, or serious concerns in relation to, mismanagement of public funding incurred in relation with any amount spent to achieve the objectives of the Facility. The Commission shall keep the European Parliament and the Council informed in a timely manner of the findings and recommendations of the Audit Board.

The Audit Board shall have access to the information, databases and registries required to carry out its tasks. The Framework Agreement shall define rules and details for the access to relevant information by the Audit Board and for the provision of relevant information by Ukraine to the Audit Board.

The functioning of the Audit Board shall be funded under Chapter V.

The Commission shall hold, at least every four months, a dialogue with the competent committees of the European Parliament, as relevant, to discuss:

The European Parliament may express its views in resolutions as regards the matters referred to in paragraph 1.

The Commission shall take into account any elements arising from the views expressed through the Ukraine Facility Dialogue, including the resolutions from the European Parliament, where relevant.

Support under the Facility shall be implemented by way of work programmes as referred to in Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. Work programmes shall be adopted by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 42 of this Regulation, with the exception of operations provided for on the basis of Articles 23(2) and 34(6) of this Regulation.

Assistance under Chapter V may also be implemented by way of specific work programmes where the implementation of that assistance does not require the conclusion of agreements referred to in Articles 9 and 10.

The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the Facility and assess the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3. The monitoring of that implementation shall be targeted and proportionate to the activities carried out under the Facility.

The financing agreements referred to in Article 10 and the loan agreement referred to in Article 22 shall set out rules and procedures for Ukraine to report to the Commission for the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article. For the purpose of such reporting, Ukrainian competent authorities should draw on regular consultation with the Verkhovna Rada, and other stakeholders including regional, local, urban and other public authorities, as well as with social partners and civil society organisations as set out in Article 14.

The Union support provided under the Ukraine Investment Framework shall be reported in accordance with Article 28(10).

The Commission shall provide simultaneously to the European Parliament and the Council an annual report on progress towards the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation, complemented by quarterly presentations on the state of play of the implementation of the Facility.

The Commission shall provide the report referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article to the committee referred to in Article 42.

The Commission shall provide to the European Parliament and the Council an independent interim evaluation report on the implementation of the Facility by 31 December 2026, and an independent ex post evaluation report by 31 December 2031.

The evaluation reports referred to in paragraph 1 shall, in particular, assess the extent to which the objectives of the Facility have been achieved, the efficiency of the use of the resources provided under the Facility, the protection of the financial interests of the Union and the European added value. They shall also consider the continued relevance of all objectives and activities.

Where appropriate, the Commission shall submit proposals taking into account the results of the evaluation reports referred to in paragraph 1.

The ex post evaluation report shall consist of a global assessment of the Facility and shall, to the extent possible, include information on its impact in the long term.

The ex post evaluation shall make use of the good practice principles of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, seeking to ascertain whether the objectives have been met and to formulate recommendations with a view to improving future activities.

The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 21 and 32 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from seven days after the entry into force of this Regulation.

The delegation of power referred to in Articles 21 and 32 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 21 and 32 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

For implementing acts referred to in Article 11(2), where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Where the opinion of the committee is to be obtained by a written procedure, that procedure shall be terminated without result when, within the time-limit allowed for delivery of the opinion, the chair of the committee so decides or a simple majority of committee members so request.

The Commission may engage in communication activities to ensure the visibility of the Union funding for the financial support envisaged in the Ukraine Plan, including through joint communication activities with Ukraine. The Commission may, as appropriate, ensure that support under the Facility is communicated and acknowledged through a funding statement.

The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, including, where applicable, by displaying the emblem of the Union and an appropriate funding statement that contains the words ‘funded by the European Union – Ukraine Facility’ or ‘co-funded by the European Union – Ukraine Facility’, in particular when promoting the activities and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public.

The Commission shall implement information and communication activities relating to the Facility, to activities taken pursuant to the Facility and to the results obtained. Financial resources allocated to the Facility shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, in so far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.

Information, communication and publicity shall be provided in accessible format.