As part of the EU’s commitment to support Ukraine’s resilience and its path to EU membership, a new EU-funded Twinning project was officially launched on 14 May 2025. The initiative aims to assist the National Bank of Ukraine in implementing risk-based supervision in line with EU best practices and to promote safe development and efficient services of non-bank financial institutions. Strengthening these institutions will play a key role in financing Ukraine’s post-war recovery and supporting its integration into EU and global financial markets.

This will be achieved in collaboration with peer supervisory institutions from the EU Member States - Polish Financial Supervision Authority (UKNF), Bank of Lithuania (LB) and International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), in collaboration with the Directorate General for Insurance and Pension Funds, Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business of Spain - DGSFP.

The virtual conference was attended by high-level officials of public administration and diplomatic services of Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Spain; representatives of Ukrainian insurers, credit unions, non-banking payment services providers, professional associations, media, and the market.

In his welcome address, Mr Sergiy Nikolaychuk, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, noted: “Ukraine has set itself an ambitious goal of achieving membership in the European Union within the shortest possible timeframe. We at the NBU are fully aware of the responsibility entrusted to us and are doing everything within our mandate to accelerate the integration of Ukraine’s financial sector into the EU single market. It is my strong conviction that the dynamic exchange of knowledge and experience with our partners from EU member states, within the framework of this new Twinning project, will serve as invaluable support in this process, particularly in further advancing reforms in the non-bank financial sector”.

Mr Henrik Huitfeldt, Head of Section for Public Finance Management, Business Support and Social Policies at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, stated: “Non-bank financial intermediaries are important building blocks for Ukraine’s wartime resilience and future recovery. They are contributing to a financial ecosystem that maintains liquidity and encourages investment towards a sustainable and inclusive economy. Alignment with the legal and regulatory framework of the EU financial market is a crucial part of Ukraine’s reform, recovery and EU integration effort".

According to Mr Krystian Wiercioch, Deputy Chair of the UKNF “I hope that the consortium appointed to run this project will complete the ambitious tasks defined in the work plan adopted on 8 April, and that the knowledge made available by, among others, UKNF experts, based on the practical supervisory experience and techniques learned both during the period of economic transformation and in the process of joining the EU, will be of a particular value for our partners at the National Bank of Ukraine, who are transforming their economy and applying for EU membership in such difficult conditions caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation".

Mr Gediminas Šimkus, Chair of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, noted: “The Twinning project we launch today represents the next chapter in our strategic partnership. This collaboration enriches both our institutions in ways that transcend traditional knowledge transfer. As Lithuania offers its experience in the EU-aligned supervision frameworks, and Ukraine shares remarkable achievements in contingency planning - strategies tested under the most challenging conditions - we aren't merely exchanging technical know-how. We are weaving a safety net of preparedness that will catch us both when - not if - the next financial storm arrives. Every insight shared between Vilnius and Kyiv becomes a thread in that net, making our financial systems not just compliant, but truly resilient".

Mr Javier Castillo Garcia, Deputy Director General for Regulation and International Relations at DGSFP stated: “The DGSFP brings great added value to the project. Among other issues, it can be highlighted the recent experience of the DGSFP in the reform of the Directive of Solvency II, that has been signed under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the UE, apart from the 10 years’ experience of our institution under the Solvency II framework and our previous experience in Twinning Projects. Our institution fully supports this twinning project, and we will share with you our knowledge thanks to our short-term experts. All the short-term experts are insurance inspectors and have huge international experience, and have even participated in previous twinning projects".

The planned tasks, as presented by Mr Damian Jaworski and Mr Sergiy Khudiyash, leading the project on the sides of the Member States’ consortium and the National Bank of Ukraine, will include the development of methodologies for risks assessment, supervisory techniques, training of supervisory staff, in line with EU legislation and best practices. This will support timely identification and mitigation of risks in the market, while reducing burden for market participants.

About Twinning:

Twinning is an EU instrument of institutional cooperation between public administrations in EU Member States and beneficiary countries and/or partner countries. A twinning project combines the experience and expertise of public sector institutions in EU Member States and beneficiary countries to achieve concrete results as part of jointly agreed twinning exercises.

For media inquiries:

• Ms Svitlana Zarazhevska, National Bank of Ukraine, 

Svitlana.Zarazhevska@bank.gov.ua, +380 97 886 43 63

• Ms Joanna Lipowczan, Urząd Komisji Nadzoru Finansowego (Polish Financial Supervision Authority) 
  joanna.lipowczan@knf.gov.pl, +48 22 262 51 50 / +48 668 860 798