Estimated time of reading: ~ 3 minutes  

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the EU and its international partners have taken a clear position, condemning Putin’s aggression. The EU has shown solidarity with many practical actions, among which we can stress the support to Ukraine through EU funding.

In February 2022, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a new emergency macro-financial assistance (MFA) programme for Ukraine of up to €1.2 billion. As a concrete demonstration of EU support, in March 2022, it disbursed already €600 million in emergency Macro-Financial Assistance to Ukraine, while the remaining part was expected later in the year, in line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the EU and Ukraine. 

It is also interesting to note that the EU Commission suspended cooperation with Russian entities in research, science and innovation. In March 2022, the Commission announced that it would not conclude any new contracts or agreements with Russian organisations under the Horizon Europe Programme. 

On the other side, the EU Commission promoted the Ukraine organisations’ participation in many EU funding programmes:

• In June 2022, Ukraine joined the LIFE Programme for Climate and Environment. Applicants from Ukraine could already submit their projects by participating in the calls for proposals in 2023.
• In July 2022, the European Commission signed an agreement associating Ukraine with the EU4Health programme, enabling their health system to respond to immediate needs and contribute to long-term recovery.
• In September 2022, Ukraine joined Digital Europe, having access to 4 out of 5 capacity areas (High-performance computing, Artificial intelligence, data and cloud services, and Digital skills) and the Fiscalis programme for cooperation in taxation.
• In February 2023, Ukraine joined the Single Market programme, facilitating access to EU markets, promoting entrepreneurship, learning from EU business experience, and modernising industry. Applicants from Ukraine are eligible to participate in the following components of the Programme: strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of small and medium-sized companies and producing and disseminating high-quality European statistics.
• In June 2023, the European Commission signed an agreement associating Ukraine with the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme for infrastructure funding.
• In September 2023, it joined the Customs programme that supports the development and operation of central IT systems for customs in the Union and the essential cooperation between customs authorities across the EU.

Ukraine already participated in Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, and Erasmus Plus, but the EU fostered its involvement further. For example, in December 2023, The Commission opened a new Horizon Europe Office in Kyiv, and in many calls of the Erasmus Plus programme, the EU Commission attributed priority to social inclusion projects to support Ukraine.

There is no doubt that such financial opportunities may be beneficial for Ukraine. They represent another concrete step of the European Commission to improve Ukrainian lives and bring Ukraine closer to the European Union.

Written by: Cristina Ceccarelli