The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, has disbursed EUR 600 million to Ukraine under its coronavirus (COVID-19) related macro-financial assistance (MFA) programme.

The European Commission's press service said this on Wednesday.

Commenting on the payout, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said: "Ukraine remains high on the European agenda. It is our neighbourhood country and it belongs to Europe. We are committed to offering political, financial and technical support, especially during this time of crisis as a response to COVID-19 pandemic and overcome the social and economic consequences," the press service said, citing Dombrovskis.

He also said that this EUR 600 million first tranche of emergency macro-financial assistance "confirms the EU's solidarity with Ukraine and our continued close cooperation." "I offer my best wishes to Ukraine's government for 2021 in carrying through its reform agenda, to improve living standard, continue fighting against corruption and bring Ukraine closer to the EU," the EC Vice President said.

The European Commission said that this disbursement will contribute to macro-financial stability in Ukraine, "while allowing it to allocate resources towards mitigating the severe negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic."

As reported, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ukrainian government and the EC in the summer, followed by its ratification in the middle of September, as well as after Ukraine's resumption of participation in continuing cooperation under the IMF program in recent weeks.