Top officials from the EU recently met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to speed economic and political reforms. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker arrived in Kiev from Luxembourg and joined Mr Poroshenko and European Council President Donald Tusk to talk at the presidential offices. In addition to their talks, Kiev will be the location for the National Reform conference taking place today.
The bloc has, as of now, agreed to $3.7 billion in balance of payments for their assistance for the Ukraine. The EU has said it could eventually make up to €11 billion available through various loans and grants in coming years.
The EU is also expected to announce stepped-up assistance for efforts to clean up the area around the Chernobyl nuclear site. However, it is not expected that Mr. Juncker and Mr. Tusk will meet Mr. Poroshenko’s demands for an EU peacekeeping presence in eastern Ukraine. They are also not expected to accept the idea of granting Ukranians visa free access to the bloc.
