Tremendous Progress In Ukraine With Reforms But More Is Needed - EU's VP

Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue spoke to Hromadske at the Riga Summit regarding the 1.8bn euro loan that the EU has granted to Ukraine. “Well certainly we see that this new government is working more intensively on reforms than we have ever seen,” explained Dombrovskis. As it is, more has to be done, especially with structural changes that will see the Anti-Corruption Bureau working and creating a friendly business and investment environment.

This loan is based on conditions included in the memorandum of understanding - that include increased transparency of public finance and procurement procedures.

The loan will be released in three tranches, and will be conditioned on Ukraine meeting not only the EU standards but also the IMF’s broader program.“To attract investment it is very important to tackle areas like business environment, which is business friendly and predictable,” he said. “To reduce administrative burden, number of different licenses and permits. It’s important to tackle corruption once again to provide more certainty to investors which decide to come into the Ukrainian economy.”

The situation in East Ukraine creates security concerns and adversely affects Ukraine’s economy. As tensions drop Ukraine’s economy begins to stabilize but with escalation then Ukraine will suffer. Dombrovskis stated that the EU will take appropriate action to ensure all sides abide by the Minsk Agreement.

// Angelina Kariakina and Nikita Mekenzin. Filmed 05.22.2015.