Overview
The Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF) is part of the €50 billion EU’s Ukraine Facility designed to attract public and private investments for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.
It is endowed with financial instruments totalling €9.3 billion, with €7.8 billion in loan guarantees and €1.5 billion in blended finance.
The aim of the UIF is to mobilise €40 billion of investments for the recovery, reconstruction, and modernisation.
Ukraine Investment Framework: what and how
The Ukraine Investment Framework follows the policy priorities outlined in the Ukraine Facility Regulation. In particular, Article 3 of the Regulation details the objectives, including addressing the social, economic and environmental consequences of Russia’s war of aggression, foster social and territorial cohesion, democratic, economic and environment resilience as well as, adopt and implement the political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms. General principles of the Facility are presented in Article 4, which encompasses effectiveness principles and Ukrainian ownership, complementarity with other EU support, coordination of support between donors, compliance with environmental standards, alignment with Ukraine’s National Energy and Climate Plan, inclusive consultations involving the Ukrainian Parliament (‘Verkhovna Rada’), local authorities and civil society, as well as transparency and accountability.
The Regulation also defines horizontal targets, notably a target of at least 20% for green investment, as well as the minimum 15% target for support to start-ups, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Proposed investment projects must be aligned with Ukraine’s priorities, as expressed in the Ukraine Plan as well as relevant national strategies. Ukraine will prioritise planning of public investments through its reformed Public Investment Management System, which includes the development of a Single Project Pipeline (SPP).
The Ukraine Investment Framework is implemented in indirect management by European Financial Institutions and multilateral Financial Institutions that have been already pillar-assessed by the European Commission. These include the European Investment Bank Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation, Council of Europe Development Bank, and bilateral financial institutions such as Member States’ development banks and export credit agencies.
Through these institutions, the UIF provides risk-coverage to unlock public and private investments in Ukraine already now. It can also provide investment grants and technical assistance to make these investments possible.
The Ukraine Investment Framework is governed by the Steering Board, which provides strategic and operational guidance for its implementation. It includes representatives of the European Commission and of each EU Member State. The Government of Ukraine, European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada have an observer status.
At its first meeting in April 2024, the Steering Board approved the Strategic Orientations of the UIF, outlining a set of horizontal priorities as well as priority investments areas of the based on the Ukraine Plan for recovery, reconstruction and modernisation.
First investment agreements signed at Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024
In June 2024 at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Berlin, the European Commission signed first investment programmes under the Ukraine Investment Framework amounting to EUR 1.4 billion in new guarantee and grant agreements to support Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction.
These agreements, comprise of EUR 1 billion of EU loan guarantees and EUR 400 million of EU blended finance grants, and benefit private companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, municipalities and Ukrainian state-owned enterprises. In total, the supported programmes aim to unlock EUR 6 billion in investments.
Call for Proposals under the Ukraine Investment Framework
In September 2024, European Commission launched a call for proposals under the Ukraine Investment Framework to mobilise investments into Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction and modernisation. This call covers:
- Public investment: public sector operations, involving sovereign and non-commercial sub-sovereign entities, which are in line with public investment policy of Ukraine.
- Direct private investment: private sector operations where implementing partners enter in direct agreements with private and commercial sub-sovereign entities.
- Private equity investment: equity and quasi-equity for private projects intermediated via funds.
The call will remain open for 12 months and has an indicative amount of €2.75 billion in budgetary guarantees and blended finance grants. The first cut-off date for formal assessment of the proposals is 31 October 2024. The second cut-off date for review will be in early 2025, applications will be accepted on a continuous basis.
Call for Expressions of Interest to mobilise private EU investment in critical areas to support Ukraine’s rebuilding efforts
The European Commission is launching a Call for Expressions of Interest from EU/EEA-based businesses to invest in Ukraine in line with EU strategic areas of interest and policy priorities.
The objective of this first Call for Expressions of Interest is to enter into dialogue with EU/EEA private companies on concrete investment opportunities and related constraints in Ukraine. Based on assessment criteria, subsequent contact with partner Financial Institutions may be facilitated for potential financial cooperation. This dialogue is aimed at building a pipeline of transformative private investments in Ukraine.
The deadline to submit proposals is 1 March 2025.