The European Commission has prepared a mechanism under which Ukraine is to receive the remaining €45 billion from the European Union’s loan programme by the end of 2027. This was reported by the news agency Reuters, as the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Saturday.
According to the news outlet NV, the “Ukraine Support Loan” programme has a total volume of €90 billion for 2026 and 2027. The EU states agreed the loan in April 2026. Half of the sum is to be disbursed already in 2026.
For the coming year, according to Ukrainska Pravda and NV, the Commission envisages €13.3 billion to support the state budget. A further €31.7 billion is planned for expanding Ukraine’s defence industry.
How the Commission justifies the disbursement
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, according to the news outlet TSN: “With today’s proposal, we are giving Ukraine the predictability it urgently needs and helping to keep essential public services running.”
According to the news agency Interfax-Ukraine, citing the Commission’s press office, the authority proposes to the Council of the EU that the remaining loan sum for 2027 be confirmed. The disbursement is to take place by 31 December 2027. The budget support of up to €13.3 billion will be channelled in equal parts through the “Ukraine Facility” and through macro-financial assistance, the statement says. According to Interfax-Ukraine, the budget support is tied to strict conditions on the rule of law, anti-corruption and economic resilience.
Von der Leyen said, according to Interfax-Ukraine, that stronger support for Ukraine was “one of the central items on the agenda in Montreal”, where an EU-Canada summit is currently taking place. She added: “Together with our allies, we must also do everything in our power to increase pressure on Russia and force it to end this barbaric war of aggression.”
Canada wants to take part in the loan
According to the governments of Canada and the EU, Canada is also to take part in the loan initiative. According to TSN and NV, Ottawa plans to enable Ukraine to buy military equipment from Canadian defence manufacturers using funds from the European programme.
The Commission also assessed compliance with the conditions for the ninth tranche. Of 18 planned steps, it recognised 16 as satisfactory, according to TSN and NV. These include the modernisation of the IT system for enforcing court decisions, the adoption of a strategy for the protection of human rights, a programme to combat human trafficking, a strategy for reducing state participation in the banking sector and an employment strategy. According to TSN, investments concern education, health and housing, including for veterans with disabilities, families of fallen soldiers and internally displaced persons. The preparation of an independent assessment of the work of the national regulatory authority for energy and utilities, the introduction of electronic identification and measures to monitor water resources are also among the completed tasks.
According to TSN and NV, Ukraine has not yet fully fulfilled two commitments. One concerns the formation of supervisory boards of state-owned companies in which independent members are to hold the majority; such boards have so far been established at 10 of 15 companies. The second outstanding task is the adoption of a roadmap for the gradual opening of the natural gas and electricity markets to competition.
When determining the disbursement amount, according to Reuters, the Commission proposed taking into account the partial fulfilment of the requirement on supervisory boards, as TSN and NV report. In addition, the early fulfilment of a task envisaged for the tenth tranche is to be included in the calculation: Ukraine’s request for an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to assess regulatory activity in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, the Commission had previously proposed granting Ukraine €8.04 billion under the “Ukraine Facility” – €264.6 million less than requested by Kyiv, because the conditions on supervisory boards of state-owned companies and on preparing the liberalisation of energy markets had been only partially fulfilled.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, after approval by the Council of the EU, the Commission intends to initiate the necessary steps so that disbursements to Ukraine are possible as early as the beginning of 2027.
