Considerations on COM(2022)163 - Conversion of hryvnia banknotes into the currency of host Member States for the benefit of persons fleeing the war in Ukraine

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dossier COM(2022)163 - Conversion of hryvnia banknotes into the currency of host Member States for the benefit of persons fleeing the war in ...
document COM(2022)163 EN
date April  1, 2022
 
(1) Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 4 million people have arrived in the European Union in the space of just a few weeks. Both the scale and the speed of arrivals are unprecedented.

(2) Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 3 established the existence of a mass influx into the Union of displaced persons who have had to leave Ukraine as a consequence of an armed conflict, and introduced temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine.

(3) Displaced persons enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law, in accordance with Council Directive 2001/55/EC 4 and Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 have urgent liquidity needs to cover essential expenses. Many of them have arrived with hryvnia banknotes, but face extreme difficulties in converting such notes into the currency of the host Member State.

(4) The National Bank of Ukraine has suspended the exchange of hryvnia banknotes into foreign cash in order to protect Ukraine’s limited foreign exchange reserves.

(5) Credit institutions in the Member States are not willing to carry out the exchanges due to the limited convertibility of hryvnia banknotes and exposure to exchange rate risk.

(6) Some Member States are considering putting in place national schemes that support the conversion of a limited amount of hryvnias per displaced person at a fixed rate.

(7) The conversion of hryvnias into local currency of the host Member States should be facilitated in order to support persons displaced from Ukraine in meeting their needs, in particular as they travel across the Union.

(8) A coordinated approach for national schemes put in place by Member States should be promoted with a view to offering the displaced persons from Ukraine the same conditions for converting their hryvnia banknotes into local currency independently of the Member State that host them, of establishing a level playing field for the credit institutions and to prevent eventual speculative behaviour on the market.

(9) The National Bank of Ukraine has approached a number of Member States in order to put in place such schemes to buy hryvnia banknotes at the official exchange rate.

(10) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol No 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and without prejudice to Article 3 and 4 of that Protocol, Ireland is not taking part in the adoption of this Recommendation and is not subject to its application.

(11) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Recommendation and is not subject to its application.