The European Investment Bank is considering a EUR70 million project to supply Mykolaiv with drinking water.
“The sub-project aims to restore Mykolaiv’s access to drinking water after serious damage to its water supply infrastructure as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant by Russian troops in 2023. The implementation of the sub-project will bring significant environmental and social benefits, including improved water quality, reduced pollution, and increased energy efficiency,” the project description states.
In addition, temporary jobs will be created during the construction of infrastructure elements, the document notes.
According to information on the bank’s website, the beneficiaries of the financing are state bodies and companies. The project is part of the Ukraine Municipal Infrastructure Development Program, launched in 2015 with financing in the form of a EUR400 million framework loan.
As reported, in September 2024, the government reached preliminary agreements with the EIB to attract donor funds for the construction of a water intake from the Southern Bug River and a main water pipeline in Mykolaiv.
The EIB has been operating in Ukraine since 2007. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Bank stepped up its financial support to help strengthen the country’s resilience and rebuild its infrastructure. Since then, the EIB has provided Ukraine with EUR 4 billion in financing.
Finnish Finance Minister Riitta Puurta has presented a draft budget for 2026 that proposes abolishing integration compensation paid to municipalities and social services for accepting asylum seekers and refugees, Yle reports.
It is noted that as part of the integration compensation, the state compensates municipalities for expenses related to the integration of immigrants. The most important of these services are language training and employment assistance, but they also include, for example, training courses that introduce people to Finnish society and customs.
The abolition of integration benefits will particularly affect those who have fled the war in Ukraine, said Sonya Hämäläinen, Director of Immigration at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
According to her, most users of integration services are asylum seekers and refugees.
Currently, most of them are Ukrainians who have applied for temporary protection. Their number is estimated at around 46,000. This year, about two-thirds of the funds spent on integration services will go to services for people arriving from Ukraine, and next year, according to estimates, three-quarters.
The amount of compensation paid by the state for the integration of refugees has increased dramatically. Before the Russian invasion in 2022, compensation payments amounted to $50-60 million per year, and now they exceed $150 million.
At the same time, municipalities have a legal responsibility for the integration of immigrants. This responsibility does not end even after compensation payments cease, according to Mikko Harkonen, Director of Viability at the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
“Someone has to take care of integration, and then the municipality will have to use other means to provide these services.
Therefore, services must be financed, for example, by increasing municipal taxes or reducing other services. It may also be necessary to reduce the scope of integration services. Even now, compensation is insufficient to fully finance these services,” he stressed.
The draft budget will be discussed at government budget talks in the fall, after which the government will present its draft budget for next year. The final decision on the budget will be made by parliament.
The National Bank of Ukraine has increased the financing opportunities for foreign representative offices of Ukrainian companies: previously, this was possible within the limits of actual transfers in 2021, but now it is possible either within these limits or up to EUR 1 million per year, whichever is greater.
“This relaxation will not affect Ukraine’s currency market, as such transfers will only be allowed using the business’s own currency. At the same time, it will enable Ukrainian companies to step up their efforts to promote their products on foreign markets,” the National Bank said on its website on Saturday.
The regulator has also allowed such transfers for relatively young companies, setting a restriction that at least 12 months must have passed between the date of their state registration and the date of the transaction.
“In the long term, the changes will contribute to the growth of the country’s export potential by expanding cooperation between Ukrainian businesses and foreign partners and increasing trade,” the NBU said.
In addition, the central bank has allowed payments related to legal proceedings for non-compliance by non-residents with the terms of import and export contracts.
“The decisions adopted allow legal entities of all forms of ownership to purchase foreign currency and transfer it abroad to pay registration, arbitration, court fees, and other payments and expenses during enforcement proceedings for non-compliance by non-residents with the terms of import and export contracts,” the National Bank explained.
He added that, based on a customer survey conducted by banks this year, the impact on the currency market is not expected to be significant. On the other hand, businesses will be able to protect their property and other rights and interests in foreign jurisdictions in a timely and adequate manner when resolving issues related to the return of foreign currency proceeds under export contracts or prepayments under import contracts.
The NBU clarified that the relevant amendments to “military” Resolution No. 18 of February 24, 2022, were introduced by Resolution No. 53 of the regulator’s board on May 9 of this year and came into force on May 10.
The Steering Board of the Ukraine Investment Framework, set up by the EU on April 17 under the Ukraine Facility instrument, has allocated more than EUR1bn of funding to de-risk investments, mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine, through International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and banks, Ukraine’s Deputy Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said.
“That is, this year, financing for SME development will be enough,” he said at Ukraine’s Future Summit in Brussels on April 18.
Sobolev called for more active trade and joint ventures with Ukrainian companies, because the above mechanism will provide leverage and additional guarantees.
“Thanks to the Ukraine Plan and Ukraine Facility, you will have available financing for business expansion in Ukraine, and what we need right now will be available. This year it will be available through Ukrainian banks and through MFIs: EBRD, EIB, IFC, KfW”, – said the Deputy Minister of Economy.
He specified that about 20 Ukrainian banks participate in these programs.
“So, in fact, you can apply to your Ukrainian bank, and he will provide additional financing to your companies,” – explained Sobolev.
Thanks to coordinated cooperation with international partners, Ukraine has managed to attract more than $39 billion in external financing since the beginning of 2023, compared to $32.1 billion for the entire last year, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said.
“By the end of this year, donor assistance will reach about $42.3 billion,” he was quoted as saying in a release from the Finance Ministry on Wednesday after a meeting the day before with the heads of central banks of the G7 countries, the leadership of the European Union, the IMF and the World Bank.
Marchenko also noted that Ukraine’s need for external financing in 2024 was reduced from the initial $41 billion to $37.3 billion due to measures to maximize state budget revenues, activate the domestic debt market, and reduce all capital expenditures of the state budget.
The Minister of Finance emphasized that in 2024, the priorities for financing are the military campaign and social support, the former to be provided exclusively at the expense of domestic budget revenues, and Ukraine is counting on the help of partners to finance the latter.
The desired amount of external financing in 2024, including grants, mentioned by Marchenko, was confirmed in the materials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) based on the results of the second review of the EFF program. “Support from official donors will remain the main source of financing the deficit next year,” the Fund emphasized.
He noted that net financing through the placement of domestic government bonds, although significantly lower, will also remain an important source of financing, amounting to $3.8 billion under the baseline scenario.
“Net domestic market issuance and the use of unencumbered deposits also serve as an important shock absorber and are easier to increase quickly compared to external financing. However, the risks associated with this financing plan are significant, and it is important that guaranteed external financing is provided in a timely manner,” the IMF said.
According to the materials of the second revision of the EFF program, the United States is expected to receive $8.5 billion, Japan – $2 billion, the United Kingdom – $1 billion, and another $20.4 billion from the EU, Canada and Japan.
Earlier, Marchenko clarified that Ukraine expects to receive EUR18 billion from the EU in 2024 as part of the Ukraine Facility, which is being discussed and is expected to total EUR50 billion for 2024-2027.
Ukraine has received $1.3 billion in additional emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.
“$1.3 billion of additional emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund has arrived in Ukraine. The funds will be used to finance priority needs: strengthening defense capabilities, paying pensions, social programs and supporting the economy,” Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to him, in general, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the IMF has provided Ukraine with $2.7 billion.
“Also, in the near future, we will start preparing a new special program with the Fund, which will start working next year. We thank our partners and allies for their unwavering support,” the prime minister said.
