Press Release

EU, EBRD, EIB, World Bank and IFC concerned at dismissal of Ukraine’s Naftogaz leadership

April 30, 2021

European Union and international financial institutions call for renewed reform commitment

The European Union (EU), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have made the following statement:

“We are seriously concerned about recent events at Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, Naftogaz, where the supervisory board has been temporarily suspended in order to dismiss the incumbent management team.

We call upon the leadership of Ukraine to ensure that crucial management decisions at state-owned enterprises are taken in full accordance with the basic tenets of recognised corporate governance standards.

Ukraine has made significant progress in recent years on advancing the corporate governance reform of state-owned companies towards transparency, accountability and independence.

It is imperative to build on this progress to bolster the investment climate and attract much needed private-sector investment in Ukraine.

We are hoping for renewed commitment from the Ukrainian authorities to continuing reforms that will unlock investments, allowing the country to recover and realise its potential.”

Media Contacts

EU: Maria Malcheva, Maria.MALCHEVA@eeas.europa.eu, +38067 225 73 12

EBRD: Olga Rosca, olga.rosca@ebrd.com, +905498124132

EIB: Dirk Heilmann, d.heilmann@eib.org, +352 691284094

IFC: Kateryna Chechel, kchechel@ifc.org, +380444907923

World Bank: Victor Zablotskyi, vzablotskyi@worldbank.org, +380674667690