EU unlocks €90B loan
- The EU agreed to unblock a roughly €90 billion loan for Ukraine after Hungary lifted its veto. (theguardian.com) - Officials say the package will cover about two-thirds of Ukraine's financing needs for 2026–27, amounts reported near $105–106 billion. ( ) - The deadlock eased after Ukraine reopened the Druzhba oil pipeline, resuming supplies to Hungary and helping end the veto standoff. ( )
The European Union moved to release a €90 billion loan for Ukraine after Hungary dropped a months-long veto tied to oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline. (politico.eu) European Union ambassadors gave preliminary backing on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, and Cyprus, which holds the rotating Council presidency, started a written procedure for final approval on Thursday, April 23. (dw.com) (euronews.com) The package was proposed by the European Commission on January 14 as a €90 billion support loan for 2026 and 2027, with about €60 billion earmarked for military assistance and €30 billion for budget support. (enlargement.ec.europa.eu) (euneighbourseast.eu) Brussels says that money would cover about two-thirds of Ukraine’s external financing needs for 2026 and 2027, leaving the rest to other international partners. The European Council first agreed on the loan in December 2025. (enlargement.ec.europa.eu) (epthinktank.eu) The holdup centered on Druzhba, a Soviet-era pipeline that carries Russian crude across Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. After Russian drone damage in late January, Budapest and Bratislava tied their support for the loan and a new sanctions package to the line reopening. (euronews.com) (politico.eu) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that repairs were complete, and Hungarian oil company MOL said crude began moving through Ukraine at noon that day, with delivery to Hungary and Slovakia expected by Thursday at the latest. (euronews.com) (politico.eu) Hungary’s position also shifted after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lost Hungary’s April election, while opposition leader Péter Magyar said he would no longer block the loan before taking office next month. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said his government would lift its veto only after oil started flowing again. (dw.com) (euronews.com) The same deal also cleared the way for the European Union’s 20th sanctions package against Russia, which had been delayed alongside the loan. If no member state objects in the written procedure, Kyiv gets the financing Brussels has been trying to unlock since the winter. (dw.com) (euronews.com)
