Ukraine has received confirmation of funding for participation in 10 joint projects with EU member states under the EU4Health program in the amount of EUR 4.5 million.
According to the Ministry of Health, the program is being implemented within the framework of an agreement between Ukraine and the EU concluded in 2022 on Ukraine’s participation in the EU4Health program to participate in 10 joint projects with other EU member states.
Under the program, the European Commission has approved funding for the implementation of projects in Ukraine to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes, monitor and prevent cancer and other non-communicable diseases, strengthen infection control in hospitals and among healthcare workers, improve diagnosis of rare diseases, and exchange of experience in treatment between EU countries.
The projects will train specialists in the control of medicines and medical devices in accordance with EU standards, as well as in the latest treatment methods and evaluation of medical technologies, and implement the European system for assessing the safety of human blood, tissues, and cells.
In addition, the projects are aimed at integrating the Ukrainian eHealth system into the EU’s single eHealth system, cooperation between EU countries to jointly set priorities, goals and measures to improve the global health of EU citizens and strengthen the system of response to and surveillance of cross-border threats.
The Ministry of Health clarifies that under the 2023 work program, 12 calls for proposals were announced for non-governmental organizations with a total budget of about EUR 20 million. They relate, in particular, to the areas of access to health care, mental health, prevention and diagnosis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Each participating country appoints a national program committee (representatives of the Ministry of Health) and coordinators for project implementation within the country, and in Ukraine, specialists from the Public Health Center have been appointed.
The total budget of the EU4Health program for 2021-2027 is EUR 5.3 billion. EU4Health is implemented through annual work programs. The agreement allows Ukraine to receive EU funding in the health sector on equal terms with the EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Moldova.
Ukraine’s participation in the program involves the payment of an annual contribution totaling EUR 12.1 million (2022-2027). In 2022, an agreement was signed to cancel the membership fee for Ukraine in that year. Currently, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working on ratification of the agreement in the Verkhovna Rada and on the abolition of membership fees for Ukraine until the end of the program (until 2027).
In 2023, Ukraine became the third largest supplier of agricultural products to the EU and increased its share of agricultural imports by 11% in January-September compared to 2022, the Polish publication farmer.pl reported, citing a report by the European Commission.
“Ukraine remains one of the three largest suppliers of agricultural products to the EU, according to the European Commission’s report on international trade. In the period from January to September this year, the European Union increased imports of agricultural products from Ukraine by 11% compared to 2022,” the publication wrote.
According to the report, the value of Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to the EU in the period from January to September 2023 reached EUR8.75 billion.
“Imports from Ukraine showed the largest increase in the period from January to September compared to 2022 (+891 million euros, or +11%), mainly due to an increase in grain imports,” the European Commission report says.
The biggest jump in these imports was recorded between January and June this year. Since June, imports have remained below the level of 2022, and in September they almost returned to the level of 2021, the EC said.
According to the results of the reporting period, Ukraine became the third largest exporter of agricultural products to the EU – after Brazil and the UK.
At the same time, Ukraine ranks 14th among the recipients of agricultural products from the European Union. From January to September of this year, Ukraine imported products from the EU for EUR 2.5 billion, which is 19% more than in the same period last year, farmer.pl noted.
The European Commission has announced the shipment of another 500 power generators to Ukraine.
“The ongoing brutal attacks by Russia have left Ukraine’s energy infrastructure fragile. We are sending 500 more power generators to Ukraine, bringing the total number to more than 5,500, to ensure adequate energy supply and keep vital services running,” the European Commission said in a statement on Twitter.
The financial value of the 500 power generators being sent to Ukraine is €16.5 million. The generators will be handed over to various Ukrainian ministries.
A post on the Commission’s website states that the goal is to ensure sufficient electricity supply during the cold and dark months, as well as to keep vital Ukrainian services, including hospitals, operational. 40 of the 500 generators are intended for schools.
Ukraine on Wednesday received EUR 150 million in non-repayable financial assistance from the EU as part of a bilateral agreement to finance the Support for Ukraine’s Early Recovery program (State Building and Resilience Contract), the Finance Ministry said.
“Grant funding will help ensure priority measures to restore critical facilities affected by Russia’s armed aggression, including transport infrastructure, utilities and services, social infrastructure and residential areas,” Minister Sergii Marchenko said in a release.
It is specified that the second tranche of EUR 100 million is expected in the first quarter of 2024. The funds will be used to finance both recovery activities and support small farms and other agricultural businesses.
The day before, Marchenko said that since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has managed to attract more than $39 billion in external financing, compared to $32.1 billion for the entire last year, and by the end of the year this amount will reach about $42.3 billion. In particular, the EU is expected to receive EUR 1.5 billion of the last tranche of macro-financial assistance this year.
In the coming days, Ukraine will officially initiate the process of assessing Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU law, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday.
“We are preparing to work on a negotiation framework for Ukraine. We expect it in the spring. The negotiation process will not be easy, but the main thing is that historically we have determined that Ukraine will always be part of our common European home,” he said.
Zelensky thanked “everyone who helps to bring the necessary European decisions closer. To everyone who has joined, to politicians, civic leaders, and the people of different countries who equally believe in us, in Ukraine and in Europe.”
President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the European Council has decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.
“The European Council has decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova. The European Council has granted candidate status to Georgia. And the EU will start negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved, and invited the Commission to submit a report by March with a view to making such a decision,” he wrote on Twitter.
