Ukraine Became a Member of the Council of Europe Development Bank
On 15 June this year, Ukraine successfully completed the accession process to the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and officially became the 43 rd member state of the CEB. Ukraine’s accession to the Bank was facilitated by the fact that the member states of the CEB, including Lithuania, in view of Ukraine’s extremely difficult financial and economic situation and the conditions it faces as a result of the ongoing war, supported the proposal to apply the zero-cost principle to Ukraine’s accession to the CEB. The membership will allow the country to benefit directly from the bank’s support, and the CEB to contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.
Drawing on its long-standing experience as the oldest multilateral development bank in Europe, the CEB will pay particular attention in Ukraine to the areas of social and health infrastructure and affordable housing. This is particularly important due to the launched russian attacks on critical infrastructure and the large internal migration of the population from the war-affected regions of the country. The bank’s Strategic Plan for 2023-2027 foresees that the scope of activities in Ukraine will reach about EUR 200 million this year, and gradually increase to approximately EUR 400 million per year by 2027.
In order to meet the objectives of the Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, one of which is to support the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of the social sectors in Ukraine, on 2 December 2022 the CEB made a decision to increase the authorised capital of the CEB. Ukraine’s capital holding will be covered from the CEB’s general reserves. This decision is an important sign of solidarity of all the member states of the CEB with Ukraine.
As a result of the russian war against Ukraine, the mandate of the CEB has become particularly important, and lending volumes, taking into account the demand observed in the current CEB member states, have also increased. The capital increase will enable the CEB to contribute more not only to the needs of the current member states, but also to the reconstruction of the new member state of Ukraine, particularly, in the social field.
Lithuania has always been a strong advocate and supporter of Ukraine’s membership of the CEB. Contributing to the achievement of this important goal, on 7 June this year the Government of Lithuania approved the capital increase of Lithuania to the CEB. Lithuania increased its capital holding by almost EUR 10 million - from EUR 12,588 million to EUR 22,356 million.
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank established under the Council of Europe in 1956. The CEB is the only European development bank to focus its activities exclusively on the social dimension: projects financed by the bank loans aim to reduce social exclusion, to protect the population of the most vulnerable groups of society, to seek sustainable development and to improve living conditions.
The CEB has 43 member states of the Council of Europe. Lithuania became a member of the CEB in 1996 and belongs to the so-called target group countries. Lithuania’s capital holding in the CEB accounts for about 0.23 % of the total authorised capital of the CEB.
Last updated: 20-06-2023
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