European Commission adopts proposal for conversion of hryvnia banknotes by people fleeing Ukraine

On 1 April, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Recommendation on the conversion of hryvnia banknotes into the currency of host Member States by persons fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Many Ukrainians who fled the war have found it impossible to exchange their hryvnias for euros or other currencies in their host country in the EU.

This is because the National Bank of Ukraine was forced to suspend the exchange of hryvnia banknotes for foreign cash in order to protect Ukraine’s limited foreign currency reserves. As a consequence, credit institutions in EU Member States were unwilling to carry out the exchange due to the limited convertibility of hryvnia notes and exposure to exchange rate risk, says a press release by the European Commission.

“Some Member States are considering introducing national schemes that support limited hryvnia convertibility per person and the Commission’s objective is to promote a consistent approach to such schemes,” says the press release. “The schemes should provide for a maximum limit of 10,000 hryvnias per person, without charge, at the official exchange rate published by the National Bank of Ukraine. The duration of such schemes should be at least three months.”

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Press release