EU, Ukraine sign agreements for projects worth $133M

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - The EU and Ukraine on Monday signed agreements for new projects worth $133 million to further increase Ukraine's reform efforts, according to an EU official.

“Today we signed agreements for new projects worth €119m to further boost Ukraine’s reform efforts. #EU support to Ukraine now tops €15bn since 2014 and remains unwavering," Natasha Bertaud, EU Commission deputy chief spokeswoman said in a Twitter post.

The deal came after the 21st Ukraine-EU Summit that was held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker met.

European Neighborhood Policy And Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn also attended the summit.

"#EU stands by #Ukraine: I just signed on behalf of the #EU five new financial agreements with #Ukraine in support of #decentralisation, #anticorruption, #civilsociety, implementation of the #AssociationAgreement and #East of #Ukraine," Hahn said on Twitter.

The EU has supported Ukraine since March 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea after an illegal independence vote.

Since then, the 28-member block and the European Financial Institutions have mobilized €15 billion ($16.8 billion) in support of Ukraine's reform process.

After the summit, Tusk, Juncker and Zelenskyy reaffirmed in a joint statement the continued commitment to strengthening the political association and economic integration of Ukraine with the EU.

"The EU reiterated its unwavering support and commitment to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," the statement read.