The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Gavin Gray, will begin discussions in Kyiv on Thursday with Ukrainian authorities regarding the seventh review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), as announced by the IMF's permanent representative in Ukraine, Prishila Tofano.
Details regarding other aspects of the mission's work are currently unavailable.
If Ukraine successfully completes the 7th review of the EFF program, the budget will receive $917.54 million.
It was previously noted that Ukraine had failed to meet two structural benchmarks: the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of laws to abolish the so-called "Lozovoy amendments" and to establish a Higher Administrative Court to replace the abolished Kyiv District Administrative Court by the end of 2024. The Ukrainian government registered the relevant bills No. 12367 and No. 12368 in parliament only at the end of December, and they have not yet even been accepted in principle.
The Memorandum states that one of the bills includes amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, allowing the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office to manage requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance, as well as rationalizing the consequences of the expiration of pre-trial investigation periods (especially in corruption cases), which neutralizes the effect of the "Lozovoy amendments."
The second bill proposes the adoption of a law to create a new court that will handle administrative cases against national state bodies (Cabinet, NBU, NABU, NAPC) with judges who have undergone proper checks for professional competence and integrity.
In the updated program following the fifth review, changes were made at Ukraine's request to the schedule of program reviews and disbursements resulting from them. Previously, it included only two reviews for 2025 - at the beginning of March and at the end of August, with disbursements of $917.5 million each. Now, the schedule for this year includes four quarterly reviews, similar to 2024. The amount of the eighth disbursement following the seventh review in March remains unchanged at $917.5 million, while the amounts for the next three disbursements in 2025 are $809.6 million, $539.8 million, and $445.3 million, respectively.