EU to grant Ukraine funding for strategic programs

The Ukrainian government and the European Commission have signed an agreement on funding three programs for providing the European Union's assistance to Ukraine, the government's press office said in a statement on Friday.

"The total funding amount is 116 million euros (152 million U.S. dollars)," it said.

According to the agreement, 65 million euros (85 million U.S. dollars) will be allocated for the programs of support for the implementation of transport strategy of Ukraine, while 35 million euros (46 million U.S. dollars) to be spent on the strategy of national environmental policy.

The reminder will be used for twinning and technical assistance to support the European Neighbourhood Policy.

At the EU-Ukraine summit in Brussels in November, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych expressed his willingness to achieve the needed reforms, reach the relevant EU standards and speed up negotiations on the association agreement.

EU membership is claimed by Ukraine as a key point of its foreign policy.

Source: Xinhua