The International Monetary Fund will continue to interact with the Ukrainian authorities in the coming weeks in preparation for the second review of the EFF program, generally assessing its implementation positively, and expects a positive decision on the review in the first half of December if the agreements are implemented.
Our main assessment is that the program as a whole continues to be implemented well, said Uma Ramakrishnan, Deputy Director of the Fund’s European Department, at a press conference in Kyiv following the visit of the fund delegation.
Ramakrishnan noted that a number of short-term priorities, including the adoption of the budget and a number of government measures, are underway.
According to her, the resumption of work of the IMF permanent mission in Ukraine this week will help expand and deepen interaction with a wide range of stakeholders.
IMF Mission Chief for Ukraine Gavin Gray said that Ukraine has met all quantitative targets for the second review of the program, set at the end of June, and this is an important starting point.
According to him, among the structural reforms, the key ones are the adoption in the coming weeks of a law on the restoration of lifelong financial monitoring of politically exposed persons (PEP), as well as amendments to law No. 8401 on the abolition of the 2% single tax on the resumption of tax audits with the possibility of implementation of a risk-based approach.
Among other issues for the success of the second review, Gray also named maintaining the realistic nature of the state budget 2023 and the state budget 2024, generally positively assessing the bills discussed in the Verkhovna Rada, as well as updating the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% state lending program and further progress on the anti-corruption path, in particular, guaranteeing the independence of anti-corruption bodies.
If the implementation of these agreements goes according to plan, the second review of the EFF program will be completed positively in the first half of December, the head of the IMF mission noted.