For the time of cooperation in attracting resources from donor countries, the European Union has become a reliable partner in providing the Government of Ukraine and civil society with support for reforming a wide range of spheres of social and economic development of Ukraine and European integration.
Since 1991, Ukraine has received more than 3.5 billion euros from the European Union.
Today, the priority sectors of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU are: economic development and trade, governance and civil society, energy and energy efficiency, social infrastructure and services, transport and infrastructure, agriculture, banking and finance, national security and defense, communications and ICT, restoration of Donbass and VPO, health protection, nuclear safety.
Creation of a system of protection of financial interests of Ukraine and the European Union
In pursuance of the provisions of Section VI of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to introduce a system of cooperation between public authorities in order to counteract and prevent fraud, which may arise when using EU funds provided as international technical assistance.
The system of interaction defines:
1. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is a permanent, independent national contact point for cooperation with the EU on the use of EU funds and anti-fraud (for solving systemic problem control issues and proper (targeted) use of technical assistance related to protecting Ukraine's and EU's financial interests)
2. The Interagency Coordinating Council (MKR) is an interim consultative and advisory body to the Cabinet of Ministers, which will decide on solutions to non-systemic (unpredictable) issues that may arise when fulfilling our obligations and will formulate a position on their solution.
The introduction of the mechanism does not restrict the possibility for public authorities involved in the MKR to take joint action with OLAF to protect the financial interests of Ukraine and the EU.
EU programs, EU technical, financial, and macrofinancial assistance
EU assistance must be understood in a broader sense than direct financial assistance.
Due to the high intensity of the political dialogue, domestic enterprises have been able to participate in various EU programs aimed at developing entrepreneurship, stimulating innovation development:
The Horizon 2020 programme is the largest program of the European Union aimed at financing research and innovation.
The COSME programme is one of the key programs of the European Union with a budget of 2.3 billion euros, aimed at creating favorable conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses.
The Creative Europe programme aims to support the cultural and creative sectors of Europe
Technical and financial assistance and, in particular, macrofinancial assistance, became a separate area of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU.