European Union Suspends ALL Aid to Ukraine as Kiev Continues to Pressure the Anti-corruption Agencies

European Union Suspends ALL Aid to Ukraine as Kiev Continues to Pressure the Anti-corruption Agencies

Paul Serran

German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has published a report (behind a paywall) claiming that the European Union has made a severe economic threat against Ukraine, following the lightning-fast approval, on July 21, of legislation to scrap the independence of the anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO.

And now, it seems that the threats have already materialized.

TASS reported:

“The European Union informed Ukraine on July 24 that all financial assistance has been ‘put on hold’ pending the resolution to concerns over the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies, the Ekonomicheskaya Pravda (or Economic Truth) newspaper reported, citing sources within the Ukrainian government, parliament and diplomatic circles.

The suspension primarily affects the ERA program (Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine) program, which was to provide 17.2 billion euro in emergency loans funded by frozen Russian assets until end of year, and the Ukraine Facility program, which was to allocate 12.5 billion euro in financial support.

The Ukrainian parliament is set to review the draft law aimed at guaranteeing the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), on Thursday, July 31. Since no aid tranches were expected in the coming days, the passage of the new law in the Verkhovna Rada could lead to a resumption of EU funding, eliminating any real consequences of the debacle for Kiev.”

This acomes after the EU had already suspended €1.5 bn in aid over the crackdown on the abti-corruption agencies.

Ukrainska Pravda reported:

“EU officials are preparing for a scenario in which, on Thursday 31 July, during a vote in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament), MPs either fail to pass any legislation restoring the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), or adopt amendments that result in only partial restoration.

As reported by Ekonomichna Pravda, ‘on 24 July, EU representatives informed PM Svyrydenko’s government via diplomatic channels that they are suspending all financial aid to Ukraine’. ‘Everything is on pause until the situation is rectified’, one source stated.