EU Unlocks €90bn Loan

European Union governments on Thursday finalized a €90 billion loan for Ukraine after Hungary dropped the veto that had held it up for weeks. (consilium.europa.eu) The Council of the European Union said the package will finance Ukraine’s urgent budget needs and defense industry in 2026 and 2027, with disbursements set to begin in the second quarter of 2026. The money is split into €30 billion in macroeconomic support and €60 billion for defense industrial capacity. (consilium.europa.eu) The blockage broke after Russian oil started moving again through the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukraine and supplies Hungary and Slovakia. Euronews reported the pipeline repair was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, and the EU’s final internal procedure was completed Thursday without objections. (euronews.com) Druzhba is one of the last big routes carrying Russian oil into the European Union, and its interruption in late January became the core of Budapest’s objection to the loan. Hungary and Slovakia had argued that Kyiv was too slow to restore flows after damage that Zelenskyy said was caused by Russian attacks. (aljazeera.com) The loan shows how much of Ukraine’s wartime financing is shifting onto Europe as the war stretches into a fifth year. Al Jazeera reported Brussels wants the package to keep Ukraine liquid through 2026 and 2027 as Washington reduces support and eases pressure on the Kremlin. (aljazeera.com) The legal structure is unusual inside the bloc. The Council said the borrowing will be raised on capital markets, backed by European Union budget headroom, and repaid from reparations due from Russia to Ukraine. (consilium.europa.eu) Hungary’s resistance had carried extra weight because Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had already endorsed the loan in December 2025 and secured an opt-out for Hungary, according to Euronews. The same report said his veto in February angered other governments and became a breaking point in relations between Brussels and Budapest. (euronews.com) Politics in Budapest also changed the timing. Al Jazeera reported Orbán lost Hungary’s parliamentary election on April 12, and opposition leader Péter Magyar said he would no longer block European Union money for Kyiv after taking power. (aljazeera.com) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico signaled he still distrusted the arrangement, saying he would not be surprised if the loan were unblocked and oil supplies were cut again. Zelenskyy said the package would strengthen Ukraine’s army and resilience, and he said Kyiv was working to make a first tranche available in May or June. (aljazeera.com) (euronews.com)