At the end of last week, during the summit in Brussels, EU leaders reached an agreement to allocate macro-financial assistance to Ukraine for 50 billion euros for 2024-2027.

The decision was adopted unanimously, by all 27 EU member states.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, noted: “This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine. The EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”

The summit conclusions state that Ukraine will be able to receive funds subject to meeting several preconditions regarding respect for the rule of law and democratic mechanisms. Additionally, EU leaders will hold annual debates on the program, and in two years, the European Commission may propose to review the entire multi-year financial structure.

The first tranche under the Ukraine Facility is expected to be disbursed as early as in March 2024.

It is worth noting that the engineering community participated in an expert discussion dedicated to the Facility during its development stage. The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) and the Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild (ICEG), in cooperation with the Polish partner B-Act, provided their expert proposals for the draft regulation of the European Commission on the establishment of the Ukraine Facility, the public discussion of which took place in the summer of 2023. In total, more than 20 feedbacks were received from 8 countries.

ICEG continues to follow the news and has already received words of support from EFCA regarding its readiness to cooperate in the implementation of the Ukraine Facility within the EFCA Ukraine Support Group.