The Commission will work with Ukraine to go a step further and ensure a seamless access to the Single Market of the European Union. Our Single Market is one of Europe’s greatest success stories; you know the power that lies in the Single Market, so now it is time to make it a success story for Ukrainian friends too.
The single market
On 2 February 2023, President von der Leyen and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal signed the association agreement for Ukraine to join the Single Market Programme.
Participation in this programme will provide support to Ukrainian small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), facilitate their access to EU markets, and promote a favourable business environment, sustainable growth and internationalisation.
As part of the Single Market Programme (SMP), Ukraine has been able to join the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), and benefit from Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs and the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP). For more details, see 'Support for businesses' section below.
Ukraine will also be eligible for funding to statistics producers for the design, production and dissemination of high-quality statistics to monitor the economic, social, environmental and territorial situation.
Ukraine’s participation in the Single Market Programme is an important step in Ukraine’s European path and will help the country’s economic recovery.
The European Commission has been exploring how to use the full potential of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine to ease its access to the single market. This has led to the revision of the priority action plan for 2023-24, laying down a set of actions to be undertaken by the EU and Ukraine in order to accelerate the full implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.
In 2021, the EU and Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a strategic partnership on raw materials. In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an updated roadmap for 2023-24 has been endorsed, with specific projects that reflect the new priorities and reconstruction of Ukraine’s extractive industry.
In 2025, the European Commission adopted the first list of 13 Strategic Projects on strategic raw materials located outside of the EU, including one with Ukraine.
The EU-Ukraine High Level Industrial Dialogue is organised every year between the Directorate-General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and the Ukrainian Ministry of Trade and Industry to take stock of ongoing industrial cooperation and agree on the next steps. These meetings provide a platform to discuss ongoing work strands to better integrate Ukraine into the single market and to hear directly from businesses about the impact of Russia's aggression on their operations.
The Commission is closely analysing national measures, such as export restrictions on products (agri-food, fuels etc.), taken as a consequence of the war and the ensuing effects or fears of shortages. The Commission is also monitoring national measures undertaken by EU countries to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Support for businesses
Our business support networks provide assistance to EU and Ukrainian companies interested in cooperating and developing.
Where can EU and Ukrainian businesses find advice, cooperation opportunities or updates?
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
The EEN helps businesses innovate and grow in the single market and beyond. It is the world’s largest support network for SMEs with international ambitions.
The EEN-Ukraine helps Ukrainian SMEs to innovate and partner with EU SMEs. As part of this, EEN Ukraine has recently mapped Ukrainian clients and their innovation needs to achieve the twin transition and improve their competitiveness, as well as raised awareness about doing business and investing in Ukraine.
European Clusters Alliance (ECA)
ECA is a collaborative forum that gives a voice to the clusters’ interests, needs and opportunities at European and global level. A cluster network aggregates 800 cluster organisations, consisting of 150 000 innovative businesses and around 11 000 universities, research centres and public institutions.
The Ukrainian Clusters Alliance was established on March 24, 2022. It aims to support cooperation between Ukrainian and European clusters, in order to restore disrupted value chains and for them to become more resilient at regional, national and international levels.
European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP)
ECCP is the European online hub for cluster stakeholders (cluster organisations, policymakers and other related stakeholders from the cluster ecosystem) and the reference one-stop-shop for stakeholders in non-EU countries aiming to set up partnerships with European counterparts.
Six EU-Ukraine Cluster Partnerships were formed under the EU-Ukraine Cluster Partnership Programme launched in 2024, fostering cooperation in key ecosystems. They aim to strengthen value chain linkages, support SME internationalisation, and accelerate Ukraine’s integration into the EU single market.
Focus Group Ukraine brings together relevant stakeholders and business support networks to discuss the latest EU, national, Ukrainian and international initiatives and programmes to support EU-Ukraine business cooperation and collect their feedback.
The forum promotes closer trade cooperation between Ukraine and the EU by raising awareness of the opportunities of doing business with Ukraine and vice versa.
Support for entrepreneurs
How can Ukrainian entrepreneurs gain experience to set up their own company?
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme (EYE) is an exchange scheme that helps European entrepreneurs start and grow their business. The programme is ready to support the participation of more Ukrainian entrepreneurs.
At the start of the Russian aggression, contingency measures were taken to help the functioning of 5 EYE local organisations based in Ukraine to allow for a higher number of Ukrainian entrepreneurs to participate in EYE by addressing their needs, including those who were displaced due to ongoing Russian aggression.
Within the ReadyForEU call launched in February 2023, 'Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs - Ukraine', will allow new Ukrainian entrepreneurs to gain business experience in other European countries. The call will select organisations in Ukraine and the EU to recruit up to 430 new Ukrainian entrepreneurs and match them with host entrepreneurs in the EU.
Check out the excellent results of the IMPACT consortium, led by the Ukrainian organisation LLC ‘Civitta Ukraine’.
Access to Finance and Investments
The Ukraine Facility is a pivotal instrument within the European Union's strategy to address the multifaceted challenges confronting Ukraine in the wake of Russia's war of aggression. This dedicated support mechanism, which entered into force on 1 March 2024 and covers the years 2024 to 2027, offers up to €50 billion in stable and predictable financial support. It represents a profound commitment by the EU to bolster Ukraine's resilience, foster its recovery and facilitate its path towards sustainable development and EU membership.
The Ukraine Investment Framework is the investment arm of the EU’s €50 billion Ukraine Facility. Equipped with €9.3 billion in guarantees and grants, the Ukraine Investment Framework aims to mobilise up to €40 billion in public and private investment for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction in cooperation with EU countries, the Government of Ukraine and International Financial Institutions.
Humanitarian aid and support for Ukrainians fleeing the war
The Directorate-General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs has published a report which assesses the uptake and responses by EU countries to the Commission recommendation on the recognition of professional qualifications of individuals who have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The report identifies a range of promising practices and highlights that EU countries have made significant strides in facilitating the integration of Ukrainian professionals, especially in the fields of healthcare and education.
The Directorate-General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs has set up a forum under the European Cluster Collaboration Platform to support the delivery of humanitarian aid and to support Ukrainian refugees in EU countries.
During the winter of 2022-23, in close cooperation with DG for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, a large network of businesses and industries were mobilised to encourage donations, the ramping up of production and sale of energy related equipment, such as high capacity generators or batteries. These actions resulted in the increase of offers coming from the private sector.