Failure to meet nine indicators in Q4 2025 under the Ukraine Facility program could result in a loss of €2.3 billion under the program, according to a presentation by the #RRR4U Consortium on the implementation of program indicators.
According to the published presentation, for October-December 2025, the list of unfulfilled indicators includes amendments to the legislation on civil service, the repeal of the suspension of the law on state aid, the entry into force of the law “On the Basic Principles of Housing Policy,” deregulation in certain sectors, and improvement of licensing procedures for investments in renewable energy sources (RES).
This list also includes the appointment of a nominated electricity market operator, the determination of the special status of the National Commission for State Regulation in Energy and Utilities (NKREKP), support for the development of efficient and more sustainable centralized heat supply, and the entry into force of the law on traffic safety and interoperability of rail transport.
In addition, indicators from previous periods of 2025 remain unfulfilled: from the first quarter – an increase in the staff of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) (the estimated cost of the unfulfilled indicator is EUR 0.3 billion), in the second quarter – changes regarding the review of judges’ integrity declarations and their verification, and the reform of the digitization of enforcement proceedings (EUR 0.7 billion), in the third quarter – the adoption of legislation for the electricity integration package (EUR 0.3 billion).
According to the information in the presentation, Ukraine’s failure to meet the indicators cost it EUR 3.6 billion for the whole year.
Ukraine Facility is a EUR 50 billion EU financial support program for Ukraine aimed at macroeconomic stability, modernization, reconstruction, and acceleration of Ukraine’s European integration in 2024-2027. Funding is provided in tranches after Ukraine confirms that it has met the agreed structural indicators. After August this year, Ukraine’s Plan was updated compared to its initial version two years ago.
The total amount of assistance to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility, which has been allocated since March 2024, is EUR 26.8 billion, which corresponds to almost 70% of the funds available under the first component of the Ukraine Facility. The last tranche from the European Commission was received on December 22 in the amount of EUR 2.3 billion.
The Bucharest authorities plan to introduce a tourist tax of €2 per night for each visitor to the city from 2026.
The tax will be levied on tourists staying in hotels and hostels, as well as in apartments rented through booking platforms, including Booking and Airbnb.
According to city hall estimates, revenue from the new tax could reach 15 million lei per year. The funds raised are planned to be used to develop tourist infrastructure, promote Bucharest as a tourist destination, and improve services for visitors to the city.
Romanian border guards are not allowing many cars arriving from Ukraine to cross the border without proof of technical inspection, according to eyewitnesses.
To cross the border, drivers are required to present a technical inspection certificate confirming that the vehicle is in good working order. It is also necessary to have documents for entry and travel, including passport documents, car papers, and insurance, and in some cases, confirmation of the purpose of the trip and a power of attorney when driving someone else’s car.
The Romanian border police previously indicated that during border control, drivers must present an identity document, a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration documents, and confirmation of a valid periodic technical inspection, which must be valid at the time of presentation at the checkpoint.
In addition, border guards remind travelers that customs restrictions on entry into Romania apply to meat and dairy products, honey, and cash in excess of €10,000, which must be declared.
The Ukrainian Defense Industry Joint Stock Company announces the selection of candidates for positions as independent members of the supervisory boards of six key enterprises, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
“Ukrainian Defense Industry Joint Stock Company announces the selection of candidates for the positions of independent members of the Supervisory Boards of six key enterprises in the following areas: Aircraft manufacturing; Production of radar equipment; Production of ammunition and special chemicals; Transport vehicle manufacturing; Armored vehicle manufacturing; Shipbuilding,” according to a statement on the ministry’s Telegram channel.
It is noted that Ukroboronprom seeks to ensure the formation of professional supervisory boards that will promote long-term sustainable development, transparency, efficiency, and control over the management of defense industry enterprises in accordance with the principles of corporate governance and best international practices.
“Therefore, we are starting to search for candidates for the positions of independent members of supervisory boards with experience in the following areas: corporate governance; human resources management; science-intensive machine building,” the Ministry of Defense informs.
Details about current vacancies and qualification requirements for candidates can be found on the official website of Ukroboronprom in the “Career” section. Documents for participation in the selection process (detailed CV of the candidate) will be accepted until December 31, 2025, inclusive.
In Bulgaria, amid the transition to the euro, some of the population remain concerned about possible price increases and heightened political tensions, according to media reports.
The country will join the eurozone on January 1, 2026, becoming the 21st country to adopt the single European currency.
There are also reports of a protest campaign under the slogan of preserving the Bulgarian lev, and according to Eurobarometer, about 49% of Bulgarians oppose the introduction of the euro.
The article notes that the ECB and European institutions point to the potential benefits of the transition, and the fixed conversion rate is set at 1.95583 leva per euro.
At the same time, according to media reports, the Bulgarian parliament strengthened control mechanisms in the summer to stop unjustified price increases when the currency changes.
Possible scenarios for the rise in the cost of living due to the introduction of the euro: the mildest scenario is a short-term “rounding” effect in retail trade, when some prices are rounded up, which usually contributes slightly and temporarily to inflation.
A more severe scenario is attempts by individual sellers and services to take advantage of the transition period and raise prices more than the conversion dictates, against the backdrop of already noticeable increases in the cost of food and real estate in 2025.
A negative scenario for citizens is if the rise in prices in the consumer basket outpaces the indexation of wages and pensions, real purchasing power will temporarily decline even with a formally small increase in inflation.
At the end of 2025, 56.2% of Ukrainians believe that the country is moving exclusively or predominantly in the right direction, while 30.6% assess this movement as wrong, according to the results of a nationwide sociological survey by Active Group, presented at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
According to the published data, among Ukraine’s main achievements since the start of the full-scale invasion, respondents most often cited the attraction of international aid (61.4%). Respondents also noted the organization of the country’s defense (43.1%), the unification of society around support for defenders (32.8%), and the development of the domestic defense industry (32.6%).
At the same time, Ukrainians consider corruption to be the key internal challenge, with 79.2% of respondents naming it as the country’s main problem. Among other problems, respondents pointed to mobilization (39.7%), economic support (32.2%), and defense organization (33.7%). At the same time, 41.7% believe that the real fight against corruption has intensified, while 47.3% say it has weakened.
“Ukrainians are approaching the end of the year with a combination of cautious optimism and a demand for justice, which is why corruption remains the main internal challenge for society,” said Alexander Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group, commenting on the results of the study.
The survey also showed a high level of support for the idea of peace talks: 78.0% of Ukrainians view negotiations to end the war very or somewhat positively. At the same time, views on the terms of peace remain ambiguous. Thus, 46.5% admit the possibility of a temporary loss of certain territories during the truce, while 56.3% consider a freeze on the front line to be acceptable. The greatest resistance is caused by scenarios involving strategic concessions: 66.2% do not allow the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the controlled part of Donbas, and 57.6% do not agree to a complete refusal to return the occupied territories by military means. At the same time, 76.2% support the idea of deploying NATO troops in Ukraine as a security guarantee.
Regarding elections during wartime, a total of 53.7% of respondents expressed a negative attitude towards holding elections before the end of hostilities, while 33.8% viewed the idea positively.
In the simulation of the first round of the presidential election, Volodymyr Zelensky (17.8%) and Valery Zaluzhny (16.6%) received the most support, followed by Kirill Budanov (7.3%), Petro Poroshenko (6.5%), and Dmytro Razumkov (5.4%). At the same time, 18.4% of respondents were undecided, and another 15.2% said they intended not to vote or to spoil their ballot.
Modeling of the second round shows Valery Zaluzhny leading against Volodymyr Zelensky with 38.5% to 26.7%, and against Kirill Budanov with 34.6% to 28.7%. According to the survey results, the most competitive scenario for the second round appears to be between Volodymyr Zelensky and Kirill Budanov: 32.1% would support Budanov, while 29.8% would support Zelensky.
In hypothetical parliamentary elections, Valery Zaluzhny’s party leads (14.2%), ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s party (10.4%) and European Solidarity (9.0%). Potential party projects associated with Kirill Budanov (9.3%) also show noticeable results. The share of those who are undecided is 17.8%.
The survey was conducted by Active Group using the SunFlower Sociology online panel. The method involved self-completion of questionnaires by Ukrainian citizens aged 18+. The sample consisted of 2,000 questionnaires, representative in terms of age, gender, and region of Ukraine. The theoretical error at a confidence level of 0.95 does not exceed 2.2%. The data collection period was December 21-23, 2025.
