Today, the first meeting of the  Steering Committee set up in the framework of the EU Technical Assistance Project on Technical Assistance in the Financial Sector's Priority Areas has been held at the National Bank of Ukraine to discuss and approve the inception report of the Project.

First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Oleksandr Pysaruk welcomed and commended the substantial support provided by the European community for the reform process in Ukraine and the provision of assistance to help Ukraine recover its economic prosperity.

He pointed out that the Project is intended to provide assistance in promoting Ukraine’s financial services sector reforms, which would enable it to deliver stable, secure and efficient financial markets capable to provide financial resources to the national economy and support the country’s economic and social development and integration into the global financial environment. 

In particular, with respect to the activities of the National Bank of Ukraine, the Project is intended to introduce new  means of macro-prudential supervision aimed at strengthening the financial stability;  implement the Basel II principles; establish the necessary preconditions of the future gradual implementation of the free flow of capital; enhance the existing regulatory financial reporting framework by adoption of the  XBRL taxonomy; as well as to improve  monetary and financial statistics.

Mr. Simon Knott, an expert from the Support Group for Ukraine at European Commission, underlined the importance of the ongoing Project as it has to set the stage for the creation of a solid, autonomous and efficiently functioning financial sector in Ukraine.  The Project is fully consistent with the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, and the Comprehensive Program for the Development of Ukraine’s Financial Sector till 2020, which was approved by Ukraine's National Reform Council and implemented under the guidance of the National Bank of Ukraine.

The meeting was also attended by Ms Nadya Boneva, Project Director, Project Key Experts (Gilbert Scott Calhoun, Artur Radomski, and Harilaos Mertzanis), and Ms Juana Mera Cabello, Head of Section for Economic Cooperation at European Commission, as well as representatives of the Project beneficiaries (the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC); National Financial Services Commission and the National Bank of Ukraine).

For reference

The objective of the EU technical assistance Project is to uphold the strengthening of the Ukrainian Financial Services Sector and harmonize and align it with EU and international standards. The Project represents a continuation of technical cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the area of financial services, which aims to facilitate the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The EU technical assistance Project, which was launched in late March 2015, will run for three years. The Project is implemented by Hulla&Co.Human Dynamics KG.