Finland's development cooperation in Ukraine

Finland supports ongoing reforms in Ukraine through development cooperation activities. The cooperation focuses on education and energy efficiency.

Finland's development cooperation with Ukraine is based on the Government Report on Development Policy, adopted in 2016, in which Ukraine was raised among the target countries of development cooperation funding because of the crisis that had erupted there in 2014. In the OECD Development Assistance Committee's (DAC) list of recipients of official development assistance (ODA), Ukraine belongs to the Lower Middle Income Countries group.

The national development goals are guided by the country's own development plans and the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), which entered into force in 2017 and lay the foundation for the cooperation between the EU and Ukraine.

Strategy for Development Cooperation, Ukraine 2018–2022:

Strategy for Development Cooperation: Ukraine 2018-2022 (PDF, 1 MB,33 pages)

Finland has increased its support for Ukraine owing to the deteriorated political, economic and humanitarian situation in the country. In 2014–2020, over EUR 56 million was directed to various projects, international organisations’ activities, humanitarian aid and secondment of experts. Finland supports Ukraine also through the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

In 2018–2022, Finland will continue its bilateral assistance by supporting Ukraine's school reform with EUR 8 million (of which EUR 2 million will come from the EU). The Finland-Ukraine Trust Fund, established at NEFCO (Nordic Environment Finance Corporation), will allocate EUR 6 million in 2018–2021 to support energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy and alternative types of energy sources in Ukraine. Finland has granted a total of EUR 1.2 million to support the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine in 2014­–2021, which aims to support Ukraine's constitutional reforms. More information on Finland's support (PDF) (Відкриває нове вікно).

School reform

In 2018, Finland launched a project to support the Ukrainian School Reform, which is implemented by the FCG International in partnership with the University of Helsinki. The project focuses on teacher training, study materials and learning environments. Ukraine wants to draw on Finland's education system and to improve students' ability to apply information in practice.

 

Schoolchildren in Antonivka, Kherson. Photo: NEFCO/Patrik Rastenberger.

Energy efficiency

In 2017, Finland together with the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) established a Ukraine Trust Fund to finance energy efficiency. Projects supported by the Trust Fund aim to increase the use of renewable energy and the recovery of energy from waste, to create effective logistics for the bioenergy sector, and to make use of clean production and smart energy solutions. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, signed in 2017, serves as a basis for this cooperation. Read more about NEFCO's energy efficiency project(Посилання на інший веб-сайт.) (Відкриває нове вікно).

Civilian crisis management

The Foreign Ministry's civilian crisis management appropriations are used to support posted Finnish advisers in their efforts to strengthen the security situation and to foster development in Ukraine. Finnish monitoring officers are working in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM), the EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM), and the Council of Europe Office in Kyiv.

Humanitarian aid and mine action

In 2016–2020, Finland supports humanitarian mine action in eastern Ukraine through the HALO Trust organisation by EUR 1.5 million. In 2014–2019, Finland channeled humanitarian assistance to Ukraine through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Finnish Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, Finland has supported Ukraine by participating in NATO's partnership projects.

Commercial cooperation

The DCFTA has had considerable positive development impacts. The EU is now the most important destination of Ukrainian exports. Trade between Finland and Ukraine is also growing. About 80 Finnish companies are currently operating on the Ukrainian markets.

Civil society organisations

In 2018, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs supported two Finnish organisations, the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) and the Abilis Foundation, in their development cooperation projects in Ukraine.

Finland's Embassy in Kyiv has supported Ukrainian civil society organisations by granting them a small amount of funding from the mission's funds for local cooperation. In 2018, EUR 100,000 was granted to three projects focusing on women's rights and good governance in different parts of Ukraine.

Risks

The Embassy in Kyiv is prepared to monitor possible risks in the projects' implementation phase.  The processes of change in Ukraine that are supported by Finland are demanding and complicated, and involve several risks. Regional instability, ongoing conflicts and corruption in Ukraine pose major challenges.  We try to reduce the risks involved in the implementation of development cooperation projects by working together with Ukrainian authorities and experts carrying out the projects.