History of the Ukraine-Reform Conference

After the Euromaidan in 2013, Ukraine embarked on an ambitious reform programme. Since then, the authorities have effected more reforms than in the two decades since Ukraine's independence in 1991. Euromaidan crystallised the Ukrainian people's aspirations for a more European direction and closer alignment with European values for their social contract and international orientation. Although the revolution proved to be a great source of inspiration and a driver of Ukraine's reforms, it was the association agreement and free trade agreement with the EU as well as visa liberalisation that actually anchored the country's reform agenda. To date, Ukraine has undergone landmark reforms in banking, decentralisation and digital transformation.

The Ukraine Reform Conference (URC) takes place once a year and provides an annual overview of developments. It was launched in London in 2017 (2018 Copenhagen, 2019 Toronto and, due to COVID-19, only again in 2021 in Vilnius). The goal of the URC is for Ukraine to present the progress it has made, for international partners to express support, and for all stakeholders to examine what steps to take next to advance the reform process. Each URC is co-organised by the foreign ministers of the host country and Ukraine.

The conferences have been attended in recent years by a number of prominent people from Europe and North America representing politics, business and civil society. In view of how important the reform agenda is for Ukraine, after his election in 2019 President Zelenskyy also decided to attend the URC conferences. In addition to state representatives, major organisations such as the IMF, World Bank, NATO, EBRD, EIB, EU, OECD, UNDP and Council of Europe are also invited.