Fiscal discipline in line with EU standards: the Ministry of Finance and EU4PFM agreed on joint steps

On 18 September, First Deputy Minister of Finance Roman Yermolychev and heads of MoF departments met with Jurgita Domeikienė, Team Leader of Components 1, 3, and 4 of the EU4PFM Programme, the EU4PFM expert team, and Paulius Strelciunas, Programme Officer of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

During the meeting, the partners outlined a plan and agreed on the next steps for introducing fiscal rules and aligning Ukraine’s financial systems with EU practices – a key requirement under Directive 2011/85/EU.

“I would like to thank the EU4PFM Project for supporting Ukraine, particularly for its recommendations on fiscal rules and on monitoring deficit and debt. While we are already taking the concept into account, it is also important for us to hear the views of all institutions and partners. This will allow us to improve the methodology for implementing fiscal rules and their monitoring system, ensuring compliance with Directive 2011/85/EU and Chapter 33 of the negotiation process. This is an important stage on our path to the EU: fiscal rules guarantee transparency and sustainability of public finances. The Ministry of Finance has already introduced medium-term budget planning and is moving towards the next step – strengthening fiscal discipline,” underlined First Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Roman Yermolychev.

Directive 2011/85/EU sets requirements for the budgetary frameworks of EU Member States: medium-term budgetary planning, clear fiscal rules, independent oversight, and regular publication of public finance data.Its implementation forms part of Ukraine’s commitments under Chapter 33 of the EU accession negotiations.

EU4PFM representatives highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach and agreed that all proposals should be coordinated across institutions. The experts welcomed the initiative to discuss these issues during the study visit of Ukrainian specialists to Lithuania and confirmed their continued readiness to support Ukraine on its path towards EU membership.