History

The EU has offered Ukraine significant support over the years from help with reforms to closer trade links. In this section you will find an overview of articles and press releases showing how the EU and the European Parliament have been backing Ukraine over the years.

Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker and activist, is the laureate of the 2018 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The prize, named in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded each year by the European Parliament.

Sakharov Prize ceremony: “Oleg Sentsov is a fighter by nature" (December 2018)

The 2018 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was awarded to Ukrainian filmmaker and writer Oleg Sentsov during a ceremony at the Parliament in Strasbourg on 12 December 2018.

Men push a cart over the destroyed Putilovka bridge near Donetsk airport on March 21, 2015.

European Parliament approves €1,8 billion EU loan to Ukraine (March 2015)

EU plans to lend Ukraine €1,8 billion to help plug its short-term balance of payments gap were approved by MEPs on 15 March 2015. The EU will borrow the money externally and lend it on to Ukraine with the same interest rate. The disbursement will be tied to Ukraine pledging structural reforms to tackle problems that contributed to the current crisis.

The silhouette of a Ukrainian soldier is seen against a Ukrainian flag

MEPs welcome signs of hope in Ukraine and urge EU to stand up to Russia (2014)

The European Parliament welcomes signs of hope in moves towards peace in Ukraine and in the newly-ratified EU-Ukraine association agreement, but worries about Russia’s real intentions in the undeclared "hybrid war" there. In a resolution adopted in September 2014, it urges the EU to stand up to Russia and step up support for EU farmers hit by its trade ban.

European Parliament ratifies EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (September 2014)

The European Parliament gave its consent to the EU-Ukraine Association agreement, which includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), on 16 September 2014 in Strasbourg. At the same time, the Agreement was also ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament in Kiev. The deal will establish a deep political association and economic integration between the EU and Ukraine and provide for mutual free market access.

People hold Ukrainian flags as they gather in front of the parliament in Kiev

MEPs cut customs duties on imports from Ukraine (April 2014)

About 98% of the customs duties that Ukrainian iron, steel, farm produce and machinery exporters pay at EU borders will be removed by a proposal backed by European Parliament on 3 April 2014. This unilateral measure will boost Ukraine’s struggling economy by saving its manufacturers and exporters €487 million a year.

European Parliament calls on Russia to withdraw military forces from Ukraine (2014)

Russia must immediately withdraw all its military forces from Ukrainian territory, say MEPs in a resolution passed in March 2014. They condemn its "act of aggression in invading Crimea" as a breach of international law, declare Crimea’s plans to hold a referendum on its accession to Russia to be illegal and warn that Russia’s actions pose a threat to the security of the EU.

MEPs call on EU to support Ukrainians demonstrating for a European future (2013)

The EU should not give up on Ukrainians protesting against their government’s decision to postpone closer links with the Union, according to the majority of MEPs during a debate on the country’s situation in December 2013. However, some MEPs called Ukraine’s decision to not sign an association agreement a failure of the EU’s foreign policy and a win for Russia.