NBU Unveils Commemorative Coins The Granting of the Status of Candidate for EU Membership

On 18 November 2022, the NBU put into circulation the commemorative coins The Granting of the Status of Candidate for EU Membership, which mark Ukraine’s acquisition of EU candidacy status, a historic event that took place on 23 June 2022. 

The coins were presented by Andriy Pyshnyy, NBU Governor, and Oleksii Shaban, NBU Deputy Governor, at a meeting with Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Matti Maasikas, EU Ambassador to Ukraine and Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, and Anatolii Kutsevol, Deputy State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

"Ukraine is a European country with European values, which we protect and defend every day. The European Union’s granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for membership of the EU is therefore confirmation that the European community sees our country as its integral part. Over the years, ties between Ukraine and the EU have deepened. We continue to bring our legislation, institutions, and rules closer to the EU acquis. As a leader of financial sector reforms, the NBU actively participates in the European integration processes," Andriy Pyshnyy, NBU Governor, said. "The regulation of the Ukrainian financial sector has already come much closer to European standards. We are confidently moving towards Ukraine’s accession to the Single Euro Payments Area and the full implementation of our commitments under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. We are also expanding our interaction with the European Commission, the ECB, and other European institutions and financial regulators."

As a sign of long-term cooperation between Ukraine and the EU and a token of gratitude for its large-scale financial support of Ukraine during russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the NBU Governor gifted the first of these commemorative coins to Valdis Dombrovskis and Matti Maasikas.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, said, "The EU stands with Ukraine as long as it takes while Russia continues its brutal war. That means political, humanitarian, military, and financial support. The EU has mobilised unprecedent financial and technical assistance - EUR 19.7 billion to strengthen Ukraine’s economic, social and financial resilience. Ukraine has already gained EU member state candidate status and we are working on its closer integration into the EU’s internal market. In this context, we support Ukraine’s efforts in joining the Single European Payment Area and are ready to assist in this process".

The commemorative coins The Granting of the Status of Candidate for EU Membership are reproductions of a sketch by artists Volodymyr Taran and Oleksandr and Serhii Kharuk. 

The obverse of the coin is decorated with a mosaic that is placed next to the image of the European continent with outlines of Ukraine’s borders and with the legends ПОВЕРНЕННЯ ДОДОМУ (the return home) and УКРАЇНА (Ukraine). The coin’s reverse features a map of Ukraine stylized with a national embroidery ornament that is set against a background of stars symbolizing the unity of Europe’s nations. 

The coins can be purchased from the banks that distribute commemorative coins and souvenir products: UKRGASBANK JSB, RADABANK JSB, TASCOMBANK JSC, and CB PRIVATBANK JSC.