RIGA, Latvia (AP) – The European Union offered more money and the promise of visa-free travel to some post-communist nations Friday in an East-West partnership that has tempered its ambitions after Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.
Meeting in Riga for the Eastern Partnership summit, EU and Ukrainian officials signed a 1.8 billion euro ($2 billion) loan agreement meant to help revive the country’s ailing economy, which is suffering from structural problems and unrest in the industrial east.
The deal requires Ukraine to adopt a series of reforms including anti-corruption measures.
Ukraine’s economy contracted by nearly 18 percent in the first quarter of 2015 from a year earlier.
At the summit, the EU also promised grants of 200 million euros ($223 million) over the next decade to support small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.