Financial assistance for Ukraine will be discontinued due to Kiev's failure to carry out all the pledged reforms.
The European Commission has announced that the fourth tranche of financial aid to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility mechanism, initially expected to be €4.5 billion, has been reduced to €3.05 billion due to Ukraine's failure to implement three key reforms on schedule.
Guillaume Merise, the representative of the European Commission, highlighted three ongoing reforms in Ukraine: decentralization, the law on the reform of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), and the selection of judges for the High Anti-Corruption Court.
Ukraine had claimed completion of 13 out of 16 required reforms, but the European Commission found that three reforms were still outstanding. As a result, about €1.5 billion tied to these reforms was withheld according to the EU’s partial payment policy.
The withheld funds could potentially be released by the end of the year if Ukraine completes the necessary reforms and resolves related issues, particularly those concerning the independence of key anti-corruption bodies NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAPO (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office).
The Ukraine Facility is a €50 billion EU support program spanning 2024–2027 designed to aid Ukraine’s economy, reconstruction, reform progress, and modernization, all linked to Ukraine’s EU accession process and conditional on reform milestones.
This reduction reflects the EU’s enforcement of reform benchmarks tied to financial assistance under the Ukraine Facility mechanism. Ukraine has until 12 months to adopt all necessary laws to receive full funding under the Ukraine Facility program.
For more information about the reforms in Ukraine, readers are encouraged to refer to the articles "The Kitchen of Eurointegration. We tell about the less obvious problems in the negotiations on joining the EU" and "529 necessary changes. Why the rule of law roadmap brings Ukraine closer to the EU".
[1] European Truth. (2025, June 10). Ukraine's Fourth Tranche of Financial Aid Reduced Due to Unfinished Reforms. Retrieved from https://europeantruth.com/ukraines-fourth-tranche-of-financial-aid-reduced-due-to-unfinished-reforms/
[2] European Commission. (2025, June 10). Ukraine Facility: Fourth Tranche of Financial Aid Announced. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_25_1457
[3] Kyiv Post. (2025, June 11). Ukraine's Fourth Tranche of Financial Aid: What You Need to Know. Retrieved from https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/ukraines-fourth-tranche-of-financial-aid-what-you-need-to-know.html
- Guillaume Merise, the European Commission representative, pointed out three ongoing reforms in Ukraine that are crucial for receiving full financial aid: decentralization, the law on the reform of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, and the selection of judges for the High Anti-Corruption Court.
- Ukraine's fourth tranche of financial aid from the EU, initially planned at €4.5 billion, has been reduced to €3.05 billion due to the unfulfilled reforms, demonstrating the EU's commitment to enforcing reform benchmarks in politics, business, and finance as part of the Ukraine Facility mechanism.
