State Aid Control in Ukraine: From Approximation with the EU Acquis to Wartime Derogation (2014–2025)

Ukraine’s system of State aid control is both young and unusually stress-tested. Since adopting the Law on State aid to Undertakings in 2014, Ukraine has taken steps to align its legal framework with the European Union's acquis. This alignment obligation stems directly from the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, whose Articles 262–264 require the introduction of a system comparable to that established under Articles 107–109 TFEU. For several years, implementation was gradual and capacity-constrained, but a functioning notification, assessment, and monitoring regime was progressively developed under the supervision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU).

The country’s trajectory shifted dramatically in 2022; the Russian full-scale invasion and the declaration of martial law necessitated extraordinary adaptations. Law No 2175-IX of 1 April 2022 introduced a temporary regime under which all State aid measures granted during martial law, and for one year thereafter, are automatically deemed compatible, thereby suspending the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine’s standard ex ante assessment procedure. This emergency derogation, in part, mirrors the European Commission’s own Temporary Crisis Framework, but raises questions about the longer term culture of compliance and enforcement. This is becoming increasingly important because, since Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in June 2022, the European Commission has treated the effectiveness of State aid enforcement as a benchmark of accession progress, grouping it with competition law and public procurement in the ‘fundamentals cluster’ of the 2023 Enlargement Report.

This report provides the first systematic overview of Ukraine’s State aid regime in the European State Aid Law Quarterly. It situates the legal framework within the dual context of EU approximation and wartime exigencies. The analysis highlights the institutional and legislative foundations, explores the use of derogations, and evaluates the implications of recent reforms for post-war recovery. In doing so, it positions Ukraine at the crossroads: between convergence with EU standards, the practical suspension of control in light of geopolitical crisis, and the challenges of rebuilding a functioning system capable of handling unprecedented volumes of aid linked to re- construction and green transition.