Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis in Ukraine today and tomorrow

Today, the Executive Vice-President will be meeting Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other government representatives, with a press point at 15:15 CET, followed by a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Tomorrow, he will take part in a ceremony at the Memorial Wall, in Kyiv, and discuss security challenges in the region with government representatives. His trip follows the announcement of President von der Leyen of a new €1.2 billion financial assistance package to Ukraine, and High-Representative/Vice-President Borrell's visit in early January. His visit adds to the EU's unwavering support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. On top of the Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, the Commission is stepping up its assistance to Ukraine in the short and medium term: Following the new emergency macro-financial assistance package, Ukraine will receive an additional €120 million of grants in bilateral assistance this year, up from €160 million initially foreseen. In addition, the EU will continue to invest in Ukraine's future, through our Economic and Investment Plan which aims to leverage up to €6.5 billion in investments over the next years. Ukraine is a priority partner for the European Union. This support will strengthen its financing needs, state-building and resilience efforts.