The European Union agreed to the Plan of Ukraine within the framework of the Ukraine Facility

The ambassadors of the European Union agreed on the plan of reforms in Ukraine, which must be implemented in order to receive aid by 2027 from the EU within the framework of the Ukraine Facility, which provides for the allocation of 50 billion euros. According to UNN, the Ukraine Facility for agrarians provides for ensuring the functioning of the land market, improving the institutional and administrative structure for managing investment programs, improving the official public electronic register of agricultural enterprises, a long-term plan for the development of the irrigation complex to increase the sector's resilience to climate change, as well as demining land and water areas.

In turn, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocates $60 million to support Ukrainian agriculture. According to USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman, the aid package is aimed at implementing the new Harvest program to mitigate the impact of Russian aggression on agricultural production in Ukraine. The program aims to help Ukrainian farmers to increase the efficiency of production, make it more sustainable and more competitive during the war, and at the same time lay the foundation for the long-term sustainable development of the Ukrainian agricultural sector. As part of Harvest, USAID will contribute to the creation of a regulatory and business environment in Ukraine that will unlock the potential for innovation and help attract private business resources to help Ukrainian agricultural producers continue to feed their country and many other countries around the world. After all, the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex remains one of the main drivers of the Ukrainian economy, in particular, in 2023, it provided more than 60% of export revenues.

Thus, the Harvest program will be part of the "Agricultural Sustainability Initiative in Ukraine" (AGRI-Ukraine). As of July 2022, USAID has already invested more than $350 million in it, and has also attracted more than $370 million from other donors.

Earlier it was reported that Ukraine received the second, April tranche under the Ukraine Facility program in the amount of 1.5 billion euros. As confirmed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, if the EU approves the plan for Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility, we will receive EUR 1.89 billion in June, EUR 4.11 billion in September, and another EUR 4 billion in November. Currently, the Ukraine Facility program provides Ukraine with budgetary and investment support, as well as technical assistance. On each of the points of the program, Ukraine must report every quarter. Before the full approval of the action plan for Ukraine, it will be able to receive about 9 billion euros from the 50 billion provided by the program. It is known that 1 billion euros are planned to be directed to support regional needs for the recovery of the country and continued support for the decentralization policy. Also, 1 billion euros will be directed to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

In general, experts believe that Ukraine's position should be taken into account in the new agricultural policy of the EU. As Oleg Khomenko, general director of the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club, noted during the Black Sea Grain 2024 conference. According to him, no less turbulent times await Ukraine on the way to European integration and work with the EU. After all, parliamentary elections to the European Parliament will soon be held, the appointment of a new member of the European Commission and, plus, the presidency of the Council of the EU will be held by Hungary from July, and from January by Poland.