EU readies €90bn for Ukraine

The European Union has prepared the core of a €90 billion loan package for Ukraine, with a first payout possible by the end of the second quarter of 2026. (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, ukrinform.net) The European Commission proposed the package on January 14, 2026 for 2026 and 2027, and said it would be set up as a Ukraine Support Loan based on Article 212 of the European Union treaty. The Commission said the money is meant to secure continuous financing for Ukraine as Russia’s full-scale war enters its fifth year. (enlargement.ec.europa.eu) The European Parliament then approved the package under an urgent procedure in February, backing a €90 billion loan financed through joint European Union borrowing and guaranteed by the bloc’s budget reserve. Parliament’s briefing said the legislation covers Ukraine’s financing needs for 2026 and 2027. (europarl.europa.eu, europarl.europa.eu) The package shifts European support away from rolling short-term aid votes and toward a two-year financing plan with both budget support and defence procurement. A European Parliament press release said €30 billion of the loan would go to macro-financial assistance through the Ukraine Facility, while other tranches would support defence needs. (europarl.europa.eu, defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu) On April 1, the Commission said it had moved from legislation to implementation, taking preparatory steps for the loan and approving procurement derogations for the first defence product schedule, which will focus on drones. It also sent the Council a proposal to approve the overall amount of support for 2026 and define the split between defence procurement and budget support. (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu) President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 17 that unblocking the European package would also release money to expand Ukraine’s combat aviation with Swedish-made Gripen fighters. Ukrinform reported that Zelensky linked the financing directly to plans to enlarge Ukraine’s air fleet. (ukrinform.net) Gripen has been part of Ukraine’s planning for months. Ukrinform reported in December that Zelensky said a letter of intent with Sweden on air-capability cooperation could open the way to about 100 Gripen aircraft, though no transfer timetable was made public. (ukrinform.net) The politics inside the bloc remain difficult. A European Parliament briefing said the loan is financed by the European Union except for Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia, and Ukrinform reported last month that Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, said Budapest would block the €90 billion package. (europarl.europa.eu, ukrinform.net) If Brussels can keep the second-quarter timetable, the package would turn a January proposal into cash within roughly six months. If it stalls, the test will be whether the European Union can convert a €90 billion promise into budget support, drones and aircraft financing on schedule. (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, ukrinform.net)