{ "title": "Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Ukraine", "publication": "IMF News, February 12, 2015", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/index.md", "summary": "IMF team in Kiev reached a staff-level agreement with the Ukrainian government on a new economic reform program.", "publishDate": "2015-02-12", "sections": [ { "heading": "Program agreement and overview", "content": "- IMF team in Kiev reached a staff-level agreement with the Ukrainian government on a new economic reform program.\n- The program would be supported by an Extended Fund Facility of SDR 12.35 billion (about $17.5 billion, €15.5 billion) from the IMF.\n- The arrangement is a four-year program aimed at:\n - supporting immediate economic stabilization in Ukraine;\n - implementing a set of bold policy reforms to restore robust growth over the medium term;\n - improving living standards for the Ukrainian people.\n- Christine Lagarde intends to recommend the program for consideration to the IMF Executive Board." }, { "heading": "Reasons the IMF believes the program can succeed", "content": "- First: demonstrated commitment to reform\n - 2014 fiscal deficit: 4.6 percent of GDP vs. a target of 5.8 percent.\n - Adoption of a flexible exchange rate regime.\n - Significant increases in household energy prices in 2014:\n - household gas prices to 56 percent of the import price;\n - heating prices to about 40 percent of the import price.\n - Initiation of efforts to strengthen the country's anti-corruption and anti-money laundering framework.\n- Second: front-loaded actions going forward\n - Government commitments under the program include:\n - further sizable energy tariff increases;\n - bank restructuring;\n - governance reforms of state-owned enterprises;\n - legal changes to implement the anti-corruption and judicial reform agenda.\n - Measures will be taken to strengthen and better target the social safety net to help cushion adjustment, especially for the poorest groups.\n- Third: increased external support\n - Change from a Stand-By Arrangement to an Extended Fund Facility provides:\n - more funding;\n - more time;\n - more flexibility;\n - better financing terms for Ukraine to implement reforms.\n - IMF resources will be complemented by other bilateral and multilateral financing.\n - The Ukrainian government intends to hold consultations with holders of their sovereign debt to improve medium-term sustainability.\n - From these various sources taken together, a total financing package of around $40 billion is estimated over the four year period." }, { "heading": "Risks and macroeconomic approach", "content": "- The program is described as ambitious, tough, realistic, and not without risk.\n- Main identified risk:\n - Geopolitical developments that may affect market and investor confidence, particularly the conflict in the East.\n- Program design response:\n - The program is based on conservative macroeconomic assumptions to buffer further the impact of the conflict.\n - Resolution of the conflict would strengthen and speed up prospects for macroeconomic stabilization and growth." }, { "heading": "Final assessment", "content": "- Effective implementation—after consideration and approval by the IMF Executive Board—can represent a turning point for Ukraine.\n- The program offers an important opportunity for Ukraine to move its economy forward at a critical moment in the country's history, contingent on steadfast implementation and supportive external conditions.\n\nPress Release No. 15/50 — Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Ukraine (February 12, 2015).\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Ukraine and the IMF\n- Belgium and the IMF\n- Press Releases\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: February 12, 2015", "IMF team in Kiev reached a staff-level agreement with the Ukrainian government on a new economic reform program.", "The program would be supported by an Extended Fund Facility of SDR 12.35 billion (about $17.5 billion, €15.5 billion) from the IMF.", "The arrangement is a four-year program aimed at:", "Christine Lagarde intends to recommend the program for consideration to the IMF Executive Board.", "First: demonstrated commitment to reform", "Second: front-loaded actions going forward", "Third: increased external support", "The program is described as ambitious, tough, realistic, and not without risk.", "Main identified risk:", "Program design response:", "Effective implementation—after consideration and approval by the IMF Executive Board—can represent a turning point for Ukraine.", "The program offers an important opportunity for Ukraine to move its economy forward at a critical moment in the country's history, contingent on steadfast implementation and supportive external conditions.", "[Ukraine and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/UKR/index.htm)", "[Belgium and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/BEL/index.htm)", "[Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1550/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-26T21:48:56.106Z" }