EU unblocks €90bn loan
- EU ambassadors gave preliminary approval to a €90bn loan package for Ukraine after Hungary and Slovakia lifted vetoes. - The package covers this year and next and was unlocked once Russian oil began flowing again through the Druzhba pipeline. - Officials expected the final unlocking on Thursday, and President Zelenskyy called the move “the right signal” ( ).
The European Union finalized a €90 billion loan for Ukraine on Thursday after Hungary and Slovakia dropped their objections. (consilium.europa.eu) European Union ambassadors had given preliminary approval on Wednesday, and the Council said on April 23 that it adopted the final measure needed for disbursement. The money is meant to cover Ukraine’s urgent budget and defense-industrial needs in 2026 and 2027. (euronews.com, consilium.europa.eu) The deadlock broke after Russian oil resumed moving through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline into Hungary and Slovakia. Politico reported that five European Union diplomats tied the breakthrough to the restart of those flows, which Kyiv said followed repairs to the line. (politico.eu, rfi.fr) The loan matters because Ukraine has to keep paying for government services and wartime production while Russia’s invasion grinds on into a third year. The Council said the package sits inside a “robust and conditional framework” tied to rule-of-law and anti-corruption requirements. (apnews.com, consilium.europa.eu) The dispute exposed how Ukraine’s war financing had become entangled with energy transit through Central Europe. Hungary had used the pipeline issue to block both the loan and the European Union’s 20th sanctions package, according to diplomats and EU officials cited by multiple outlets. (politico.eu, euronews.com) Druzhba, which means “friendship” in Russian, is one of Europe’s oldest major oil pipelines and still feeds refineries in landlocked states that have fewer supply options. That gave Hungary and Slovakia leverage when transit was interrupted and then restored. (politico.eu, channelnewsasia.com) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision and called it “the right signal.” France 24 reported that he was due to join European leaders in Cyprus as the bloc moved from provisional approval to final sign-off. (france24.com, consilium.europa.eu) Brussels said the first payment would be made as soon as possible. After weeks of bargaining over oil, sanctions and wartime aid, the money is now cleared to start moving. (euronews.com, consilium.europa.eu)
