Our association strongly welcomes the long-awaited decision of the European Council to provide a €50 billion financial assistance package to Ukraine! The deal was cleared today and supported by all 27 EU leaders. Most of the money will go to the state budget to reduce its deficit and maintain macroeconomic stability. But of note, for the first time, up to 8 billion euros will go to the Ukraine Investment Framework, a special program to attract both public and private investment.

UVCA has long advocated private capital as the driving force behind Ukraine's recovery, and today this initiative takes on a new scale. The Ukraine Investment Framework includes guarantees (which is important) for investors and blended financing: a combination of EU loans and grants. Such an approach greatly increases the interest and confidence of potential investors in Ukrainian projects. It is also fully in line with our vision of sustainable economic growth.

In the future, the Ukraine Investment Framework can be used to fill the Fund of Funds, Ukrainian and international VCPE funds, and other investment vehicles. That is why our association expects real cases from this program. In the meantime, we continue cooperating with the European Commission, institutional investment funds, and development funds to promote investment in Ukraine.