€90 billion loan for Ukraine: EU leaders give positive outlook on first tranche
Photo: President of the European Council António Costa, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (Getty Images)
The European Union may begin transferring funds to Ukraine under the €90 billion loan as early as early April. The process is still being blocked by Hungary, according to the press service of the European Council.
During the EU summit, leaders welcomed the legislative approval of the €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
"The European Council welcomes the adoption of the loan by the co-legislators and looks forward to the first disbursement to Ukraine by the beginning of April. In this context, it also calls for intensified outreach to third countries to help close the remaining gap of EUR 30 billion in Ukraine’s finances," the statement said.
Hungary’s veto
EU leaders supported the allocation of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026–2027 back in December last year.
For Ukraine to begin receiving the funds, EU countries still needed to approve several procedural decisions.
After Russia struck the Druzhba oil pipeline and the transit of Russian oil through Ukrainian territory was halted, Hungary began blocking all EU initiatives related to assistance for Ukraine. Among other things, it blocked one of the procedural decisions needed to provide the loan.
A few days ago, Ukraine agreed that the pipeline could be repaired at the EU’s expense. However, this did not satisfy Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He warned that until Russian oil starts flowing to Hungary through Druzhba again, Budapest will continue to block the loan for Ukraine.
