IMF mission, Ukrainian govt reps start week-long discussions on first review of EFF program
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission for the first review of the four‑year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth $8.1 billion has arrived in Kyiv and begun work, IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Priscilla Toffano said on Wednesday.
"An IMF mission, led by Gavin Gray, starts meetings today with the Ukrainian authorities and other stakeholders in the context of the first review of the EFF program and the 2026 Article IV consultation," her statement read.
"Discussions will cover macroeconomic policies and key structural reforms," Toffano added.
The Ministry of Finance, in turn, noted that over the course of the week, together with IMF experts, it will focus on assessing Ukraine's compliance with its program obligations and discussing further steps in economic and financial policy.
"This includes strengthening fiscal institutions and tax administration, strengthening governance systems and anti-corruption policies, developing financial and market infrastructure to attract private capital for the country's recovery, and further developing the market economy," the Ministry of Finance stated.
He recalled that the EFF program remains a key element in supporting the state's macro-financial stability and an important signal to international partners regarding Ukraine's consistency in implementing reforms and ensuring responsible public finance management.
As reported, under the new program Ukraine undertook commitments to adopt legislation introducing VAT for simplified taxpayers and on imported parcels valued below EUR 150 by the end of March. Regarding the first measure, Ukrainian officials said in mid-April that an agreement had been reached with the Fund to postpone its implementation by one year, while the Verkhovna Rada rejected the parcels bill on May 26, the day before the mission's arrival.
In addition, the EFF program approved at the end of February this year currently includes a structural benchmark for adoption of draft law No. 15111‑d on automatic exchange of income information on digital platforms. A vote on the bill in second reading is expected this week.
Asked by journalists whether the Ukrainian side would try to negotiate a deferral of the obligation to adopt the law on taxation of imported parcels, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko replied: "We will do everything possible, depending on the situation."
He added that during the mission's visit the issue of amending the budget will also be discussed, including increasing payments to servicemen, but reaching agreement on this matter will be considerably easier.
The new $8.1 billion EFF for Ukraine, introduced due to the protracted war, replaced the previous four-year $15.6 billion program launched in March 2023, under which nine disbursements totalling $10.6 billion were received. The first disbursement of the new program, amounting to SDR 1.11 billion ($1.5 billion), was credited to Ukraine's state budget in early March this year. Three reviews are scheduled for this year – in early June, September, and December, and if successful Ukraine will be able to receive two tranches of SDR 0.50 billion each (about $0.72 billion), as well as another SDR 0.70 billion (about $1.01 billion).
Overall, the new program envisages a total volume of external financing for Ukraine with participation of international partners of $136.5 billion under the baseline scenario and $146.3 billion under the adverse scenario.
