The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to invest about 1 billion euros a year in the implementation of projects in Ukraine if the investment climate in the country is improved, EBRD Director in Ukraine Andre Kuusvek has said.
“The EBRD has invested over 8 billion euros in the country’s economy
within 320 projects. It’s possible to preserve the funding at 1
billion euros annually only if the investment climate is improved and reforms
are consistently implemented,” he said at a meeting of the Committee on
Economic Reforms in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Kuusvek said he regretted that the situation with the functioning of
the transparent and independent judicial system remained unsatisfactory,
which, in his opinion, is especially obvious during the settlement of
commercial issues. He also noted the pressure by tax authorities on
businesses.
At the same time, Kuusvek said that the Ukrainian government had made
significant progress in conducting reforms over the past two years, but
it remains dependent on external sources of financing. In particular,
he said that the suspension of funding from the International Monetary
Fund was a negative signal to investors.
