Ecorys backs Ukraine’s (post-)wartime Recovery via Policy Reform

Since the war in Ukraine, the country has faced immense challenges, with significant destruction to infrastructure and disruption to economic activities. Despite these hardships, Ukraine is making strides towards recovery. One notable effort is the EU4Business: SME Policies & Institutions Support (SMEPIS) Ukraine programme, which aims to streamline SME-friendly policies and regulatory frameworks, fostering a more resilient business support ecosystem. Ecorys has been successfully leading this programme, marking a significant milestone in Ukraine’s path to economic recovery.

Ukraine is pursuing reforms and deregulation to simplify conditions for doing business and to support national reconstruction. In January 2023, the Government launched an accelerated review of the instruments of state regulation of economic activity, overseen by the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Deregulation.

The IWG is co-chaired by Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The working group includes representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Digital Transformation, Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Justice, Finance, and the State Regulatory Service.

Funded by the European Union, Ecorys — together with GIZ, BRDO, and Civitta — supported the IWG in implementing the EU4Business: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project. Experts from our consortium, along with those from the BRDO (Better Regulation Delivery Office), the Centre for Economic Recovery, the Centre for Economic Strategy, and EasyBusiness, contributed to the following key achievements:

• The IWG reviewed 1323 regulatory instruments for business, of which584 were recommended to be simplified and 456 to be cancelled.
• 182 instruments of state regulation were abolished at the latest meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held in April 2025, which has an economic effect of more than 600 million hryvnias.
• Since January 2023, 352 state regulatory instruments have been cancelled.

At Ecorys, we are proud to contribute our expertise to support Ukraine’s recovery and strengthen its economic resilience.