Changes from plenary report to adopted text

4. By way of derogation from the first, second and fourth subparagraphs of Article 209(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, any revenues and repayments from financial instruments established under this Regulation shall constitute internal assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, to the Facility or its successor programme.

5. By way of derogation from Article 213(4), point (a), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, any surplus of the provisions for the Ukraine Guarantee shall constitute internal assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 to the Facility or its successor programme.

6. Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down over several years into annual instalments, in accordance with Article 112(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

The third subparagraph of Article 114(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall not apply to the actions referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.

1. In duly justified exceptional circumstances, in particular where a significant deterioration of the war makes it impossible for Ukraine to fulfil the conditions attached to the forms of support under this Regulation, the Facility may provide exceptional financing to Ukraine in order to maintain its macro-financial stability and to foster the achievement of the objectives referred to in Article 3. Such exceptional financing shall cease as soon as the fulfilment of the conditions becomes possible again.

2. For the purpose of paragraph 1, where the Commission finds that it is impossible for Ukraine to fulfil the conditions attached to the forms of support under this Regulation due to such duly justified exceptional circumstances, the Commission is empowered to adapt a delegated act in accordance with Article 38 to supplement this Regulation with provisions setting out exceptional financing to Ukraine under the Facility.

3. The exceptional financing shall in any case be subject to the precondition referred to in Article 5 and shall be financed within the resources referred to in Article 6(1), point (a), and 6(2).

Pillar I: Ukraine Plan

1. The Ukraine Plan (the “Plan”) shall provide for an overarching framework to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3.

2. The Ukraine Plan shall constitute the basis for the support provided under Pillar I of the Facility as set out in Article 1(2)(a) and as referred to in this Chapter. It shall also serve as a reference to guide the support to be provided under Pillars II and III of the Facility referred to in Chapters IV and V.

1. The Ukraine Plan shall set out the reform and investment agenda of Ukraine, integrated in an economic and fiscal policy framework, towards the achievement of the general and specific objectives mentioned in Article 3. The Plan shall comprise measures for the implementation of reforms and public investment through a comprehensive and coherent package, which may also include public schemes that aim to incentivise private investments. The Ukraine Plan shall identify the amount of financial support contributing to support for macro-financial stability as defined in Article 3(2), point (a), as well as the amount of financial support contributing to support for reforms and investments as defined in the other paragraphs of Article 3.

2. The Facility shall provide financing under this Chapter upon satisfactory fulfilment of conditions stemming from the Plan, taking the form of measurable qualitative or quantitative steps, agreed in the financing agreements. Such conditions shall reflect the different objectives of the Facility, as defined in Article 3, and general principles, as set out in Article 4, and shall include conditions related to essential requirements, such as the maintenance of economic and financial stability, budget oversight and public financial management, and conditions related to the implementation of the reforms and investments set out in the Plan.

3. The conditions mentioned in this Article shall apply reflect the amounts referred to in Article 6(1)(a) and (2) and relevant contributions under paragraph 4 of that Article.

4. Measures started from 1 January 2023 onwards shall be eligible provided that they comply with the requirements set out in this Regulation.

5. The Ukraine Plan shall contribute to all or a significant subset of the priorities identified in the context of Ukraine’s accession path, as outlined in the Commission Opinion and the Analytical Report, and the Association Agreement including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and shall be consistent with those priorities. It shall also contribute to and be consistent with Ukraine’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement and, if available, the National Energy and Climate Plan.

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1. In order to receive support under the Facility, Ukraine shall submit to the Commission a Ukraine Plan.

2. The Ukraine Plan shall in particular set out the following elements, which shall be duly reasoned and substantiated:

(a) measures constituting a needs-based, coherent, comprehensive and adequately balanced response to the objectives set out in Article 3, including structural reforms and measures to promote the convergence with the Union as well as the application of the conditions referred to in article 15(2), so that the Ukraine Plan as a whole raises the growth rate of the Ukrainian economy, reduces economic and social inequalities and ensures tangible progress of Ukraine towards the Union’s social, economic, and environmental standards;

(aa) an explanation of how the Ukraine Plan contributes to effectively addressing all or a significant subset of challenges identified in the Commission Opinion on Ukraine’s application for membership of the European Union, or challenges identified in other relevant documents officially adopted by the Commission in the context of the Ukraine’s application for membership of the European Union;

(b) an explanation of how the Plan and its measures are consistent with the general principles referred to in Article 4, as well as requirements, plans and programmes referred to in Article 15;

(c) ▌ an indicative timetable, and the measurable envisaged qualitative and quantitative steps to be implemented by 31 December 2027;

(ca) measurable and achievable milestones and targets, an indicative ex-ante costing, as well as an explanation on how these measures are consistent with the requirements of Article 15, in particular paragraph 3 thereof;

(d) the arrangements for the effective monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the Ukraine Plan by Ukraine, including the proposed measurable qualitative and quantitative steps, and the related indicators, as well as the proposed comprehensive and timely involvement of the Verkhovna Rada and the monitoring committees, referred to in Article 17a;

(e) an explanation of how the Plan corresponds to the recovery, restoration reconstruction and modernisation needs stemming from Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine’s regions and municipalities, and thereby enhances their inclusive economic, social, environmental and territorial development, supports the decentralisation reform across Ukraine and convergence towards the Union’s standards; this explanation shall take into account the powers, tasks and responsibilities assigned to different levels of government; an explanation of the methodology and processes used for the selection and implementation of projects, and the mechanisms to involve sub-national authorities, in particular municipalities, as well as civil society organisations, in decision-making on the use of support in the reconstruction process at local level and in the democratic scrutiny process, in particular timely and equal access to information and funds for the relevant sub-national authorities; the methodology used to track related expenditure; and an explanation of how the Plan ensures that the reconstruction projects selected and implemented by such sub-national authorities constitute an adequately substantial share of the support; that explanation shall also cover twinning and partnerships between cities, as well as peer-to-peer cooperation and programmes embedded in partnerships between cities and regions in the Union and Ukraine;

(f) for the preparation and, where available, for the implementation of the Ukraine Plan, a summary of the consultation process, conducted in accordance with the national legal framework, of relevant stakeholders, including the Verkhovna Rada, local and regional representative bodies and authorities, social partners and civil society organisations, and how the input of those stakeholders is reflected in the Ukraine Plan;

(g) an explanation of the extent to which the measures under the Ukraine Plan are expected to contribute to:

 climate, biodiversity, and environmental objectives, in particular through the convergence towards the Union’s climate and environmental standards as well as relevant legislative initiatives and reforms, and how compatibility, to the extent possible, with the principle of ‘do no significant harm’ is ensured;

 the promotion of the rule of law;

 social objectives, including the inclusion of vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities and older people and ensure the best interest of children;

 gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, including the protection and promotion of women’s and girls’ rights in line with EU Gender Action Plans and relevant Council conclusions and international conventions.

(h) a detailed explanation of Ukraine’s system and planned measures to effectively prevent, detect and correct irregularities, fraud, corruption, high-level corruption and conflicts of interests, as well as to effectively investigate and prosecute criminal offences affecting the funds provided under the Facility, and of the arrangements that aim to avoid double funding from the Facility and other Union programmes or donors, as well as to ensure swift judicial cooperation with competent authorities of the Union and its Member States;

(ha) an explanation how Ukraine shall ensure an adequate level of protection of the financial interests of the Union by applying comparable standards as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and other related Union law;

(i) any other relevant information.

3. The Ukraine Plan shall be results-based and include measurable indicators such as key performance indicators, where applicable for assessing progress towards the achievement of the general and specific objectives referred to in Article 3.

1. The Ukraine Plan shall be prepared by the Ukrainian government and approved by the Verkhovna Rada, which shall be given due time to assess the draft bill. Ukraine shall strive to submit the Plan to the Commission by three months after entry into force of this Regulation. Ukraine may submit a draft Plan to the Commission. The Commission shall share that draft Plan with the European Parliament and the Council.

2. When preparing the Plan in accordance with Article 16, Ukraine shall take particular account of the relevant resolutions of the Verkhovna Rada and situation in Ukraine’s regional, local and urban areas, having regard to their specific needs for recovery and reconstruction, reform, modernisation and decentralisation.

3. The preparation and implementation of the Ukraine Plan shall be done in consultation with regional, local, urban and other public authorities, including relevant line ministries, civil society and expert community in accordance with the multi-level governance principle and taking into account a bottom-up approach. In line with the EU Partnership Principle and the European Code of Conduct, Ukraine and the Commission shall ensure that civil society organisations are duly consulted and involved in the process and have timely access to relevant information to allow them to play a meaningful role in the design and implementation of the Ukraine Plan.

Involvement of the Verkhovna Rada and obligation of the Monitoring Committees in the implementation and evaluation of the Ukraine Plan

1. Following the submission of the Ukraine Plan, the Ukrainian government shall regularly provide the Verkhovna Rada and the public with summaries of all relevant information regarding the implementation of the Ukraine plan, in particular in the context of amendments to the Ukraine Plan, as referred to in Article 20, in a comprehensive and timely manner. The Ukrainian government shall report in person, on a quarterly basis, at Verkhovna Rada plenary meetings.

3. Upon a well-reasoned request by the Monitoring Committees, the Ukrainian government or, where relevant, the Commission shall request audits or external evaluations of one or more measures in the Ukraine Plan, financed by funds available under Article 6(1) point (d).

1. The Commission shall assess the relevance, comprehensiveness and appropriateness of the Ukraine Plan or, where applicable, the amendment to that Plan referred to in Article 20, without undue delay, and, where appropriate, may adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 19. When carrying out that assessment, the Commission shall act in close cooperation with Ukraine, and may make observations or seek additional information.

2. When assessing the Ukraine Plan, and in the determination of the amount to be allocated to Ukraine, the Commission shall take into account relevant available analytical information on Ukraine, the justification and the elements provided by Ukraine as referred to in Article 16(2), as well as any other relevant information such as, in particular, the information listed in Article 15(5).

3. In its assessment, the Commission shall take into account the following criteria:

(ba) whether the measures in the Ukraine Plan are expected to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental protection, to the green transition, including biodiversity, or to addressing the challenges resulting therefrom, and whether those measures aim to account for an amount that represents at least 20 % of the Plan’s total allocation, based on the methodology for climate tracking set out in an annex to this Regulation;

(bb) whether the measures included in the Ukraine Plan are compatible with the principles of ‘do no significant harm’, to the extent possible, and of ‘leaving no one behind’ and that no measure included in the Plan is incompatible with Ukraine’s National Energy and Climate Plan, if available, with Ukraine’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, or that promote investments in fossil fuels;

(bc) whether the Ukraine Plan is expected to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and whether it seeks to protect and promote women’s and girls’ rights in line with the EU Gender Action Plans and relevant Council conclusions and international conventions;

(c) whether the arrangements proposed by Ukraine are expected to ensure an effective monitoring, reporting and implementation of the Ukraine Plan and any updates thereof, in particular the comprehensive and timely involvement of the Verkhovna Rada and the Monitoring Committees, referred to in Article 17a, including the envisaged timetable, measurable qualitative and quantitative steps, and the related indicators and ensure that the financial interests of the Union are protected;