The National Bank of Ukraine plans to gradually change the exchange rate of the hryvnia, replacing the US dollar with the euro as the main peg currency. Kateryna Rozhkova, the first deputy head of the NBU, reported this in an interview.
"Given our European integration course, this is definitely a reality that will happen sooner or later. If we want to become part of the European Union, to have access to its markets as exporters and importers, it is clear that we have to stick to the currency in which most of the transactions are carried out. This is an inevitable future, just like our membership in the EU," Rozhkova noted.
Rozhkova stressed that this process will proceed smoothly in order to avoid any upheavals on the financial market. A change in the main peg currency will not cause significant changes in the foreign exchange market of Ukraine.
"The pegging of the hryvnia to the euro will take place very imperceptibly and gradually to avoid shocks. This will only contribute to Ukraine's economy, because such a step is part of our European integration path," she added.
Pegging to the euro will help strengthen Ukraine's ties with the EU, because most of the country's foreign economic operations are carried out in the euro currency. The transition to a new exchange rate is consistent with Ukraine's overall goal of integration into European economic structures and EU membership.
