The European Commission (EC) put forward on Friday a proposal for the recommendation of the EU Council on the conversion of hryvnia banknotes into the currency of the member states hosting Ukrainian refugees. “This proposal complements the humanitarian assistance provided by the EU to those who flee Ukraine, in particular when they move through the territory of the union, and it is fully consistent with EU law on asylum and foreign policy,” the EC communique published in Brussels reads. The document says that since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 3.8 million people have arrived in the European Union fleeing the fighting. One of the urgent needs of refugees is the conversion of their hryvnia banknotes into the currency of the host country. “Today’s proposal aims to promote a coordinated approach for all Member States to offer those fleeing Ukraine the same conditions for converting their hryvnia banknotes into local currency, regardless of the Member State they are in,” the statement said. European Commission. Brussels explains that this approach was necessary due to the fact that the National Bank of Ukraine was forced to suspend the exchange of hryvnia banknotes for foreign cash in order to protect Ukraine’s limited foreign exchange reserves. As a consequence, credit institutions in the EU Member States are reluctant to make the exchange due to the limited convertibility of hryvnia banknotes. Some EU Member States are considering introducing national schemes that support the conversion of a limited amount of hryvnia per person, and the aim of the Commission, as the communiqué suggests, is to consistently promote such schemes. These schemes should include a maximum limit of UAH 10,000 per person, and the duration of such schemes should be at least three months.
The European Commission has launched the ERA4Ukraine portal to provide information and support services to Ukrainian scientists forced to travel abroad due to the war, according to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
According to the press service of the ministry, on the portal you can find information about the recognition of diplomas, current vacancies, receiving social assistance and housing offers for scientists and their families.
“The ERA4Ukraine portal will operate within the EURAXESS network, which supports scientists from more than 600 research centers and contains 43 national portals in EU member states and countries that have become associate participants in the Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The portal contains information about support of Ukrainian scientists from 30 countries in English. The Ukrainian version will be available soon,” the report says.
ERA4UKRAINE, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, HELP, UKRAINIAN SCIENTISTS, ПОРТАЛ
The United States does not intend to send its military to Ukraine, but provides financial assistance, U.S. President Joe Biden has said.
“We will not send troops in to fight in Ukraine, but we will continue to support the Ukrainian people. Some $460 million in aid: from Javelin missiles to ammunition. Also, $100 million is humanitarian aid and economic support for Ukraine,” Biden said during a press conference from the White House on Friday.
He added that earlier the United States had announced $100 million in guarantees a week earlier.
“Thus, the United States will provide assistance to the Ukrainian people,” he said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the draft letter to the government of Japan on the project of construction of bridge across the Pivdenny Buh river in Mykolaiv. The relevant decision was made at a meeting on Wednesday. In the explanatory note it is specified that it is necessary for official confirmation of intention and interest of Ukraine in joint implementation of this construction with the government of Japan and the Japanese agency of international cooperation, and it will also specify the priority of the project for development of Mykolaiv region and Ukraine as a whole.
The text of the letter is not provided.
As it was reported, in January, 2020 the Japanese agency of the international cooperation JICA confirmed cooperation in construction of the bridge in Mykolaiv.
JICA presented the project of construction of the bridge in Mykolaiv in June, 2018.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has set a task for the government to send 100 Ukrainian firefighters to Greece to help extinguish forest fires.
“I set the task to the government to assist Greece in overcoming the devastating fires in some parts of the country. On Friday, the Cabinet of Ministers is to make a decision to send 100 of our experienced firefighters with the necessary equipment to help Greece,” the head of state said on Twitter on Friday night.
The initiative for coal regions in transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine, led by the European Commission, will help them attract funding from a number of international financial institutions (IFIs), according to the announcement of the annual meeting of the initiative on June 23-25, made by the Delegation of the European Union in Ukraine. “The aim of the event is to support open, multi-stakeholder dialogue on coal phase out and just transition towards sustainable energy sources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine,” according to the announcement.
As noted in the EU Delegation, “the initiative will help coal regions access financing for transition projects or programmes, based on various sources available from the European Commission, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank.”
In addition, the initiative contains four other pillars of support. This is a comprehensive stakeholder dialogue, an exchange program between coal mining regions, trainings by the Coal Region Learning Academy and technical assistance.
As stated on the website of the European Commission, the initiative for coal regions with economies in transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine was launched in December 2020 and aims to help countries and regions move from coal to a carbon-neutral economy. It will support coal regions in the EU’s neighboring countries, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.
The initiative is managed by the European Commission and collaborates with six international partners: the World Bank, the Energy Community Secretariat, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management of Poland (NFOSiGW), and the College of Europe in Natolin.
