Ukraine expects to sign a memorandum on the provision of EUR 18 billion of macro-financial assistance (MFA) from the European Union (EU) for 2023 by the end of 2022, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

"There are conditions. This is no longer an unconditional tranche, as we had this year. They are, in particular, related to the corporate governance reform, the introduction of OECD principles, the continuation of anti-corruption reform, decentralization reform, judicial reform, etc. But the key thing is that we have the prospect of receiving these EUR 18 billion. We expect to receive at least another $10 billion from the US budget. We are also working with the IMF. there is a program monitoring and the prospect of receiving an extended program by the end of the first quarter," Shmyhal said in an exclusive an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering a question about the conditions for receiving an EU MFA package for 2023.

The prime minister said that all this money will allow Ukraine to cover the total deficit of the state budget 2023 of $38 billion.

"I think we will sign it this year, and in the first quarter, in January, we already expect to receive EUR 3 billion from this macro-financial assistance of the European Union. These are our political agreements and such a vital necessity," Shmyhal said.

As reported, on December 15, the leaders of the European Union approved a four-part economic package, which includes a compromise on the provision of EUR 18 billion of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in 2023.