When will the EU disburse the first tranche of the €90 billion loan to Ukraine: timeline announced
15 April 09:37
Ukraine may receive part of a 90-billion-euro European loan as early as the end of the second quarter of this year.
This was announced by European Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári at a briefing in Brussels, according to Ukrinform, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, the key elements of the support package have already been prepared. Technical work is currently underway to finalize three documents to begin disbursing funds.
“We need to finalize the memorandum of understanding, which will serve as the basis for the macro-financial assistance channel. We also need to update the plan that underpins the mechanism for supporting Ukraine—an important channel through which we intend to provide budgetary support. Since the aid package is based on a loan, we need to draft a loan agreement. In other words, work is in full swing. We are maintaining close contact with our Ukrainian colleagues and moving forward as quickly as we can,” Uzhvari said.
He refuted reports that the disbursement of the first loan tranche had been postponed to the second half of 2026.
The European Commission’s official spokesperson called previous reports of payment delays a technical error. Currently, the plan is to disburse the funds in April, May, or June of this year.
Blocking of a €90 billion loan for Ukraine
Hungary has blocked the disbursement of a 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine from the European Union until the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline is resumed; the pipeline was halted following a Russian strike on Brody in the Lviv region on January 27.
Budapest’s decision was announced just days before the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. Within the EU itself, there is a view that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s stance was driven by the upcoming elections.
Hungary’s ambassador to the EU opposed the mechanism for borrowing funds guaranteed by the EU budget.
Although EU leaders agreed on a loan for Kyiv back in December, the consent of all 27 member states is required to launch the process. Hungary was the only country to block the decision, knowing that Ukraine’s budget deficit would begin as early as April.
On February 24, the Council of the European Union for General Affairs approved two draft laws paving the way for a €90 billion loan to Ukraine; however, the third necessary document—amendments to the EU’s long-term budget—remains blocked by Hungary.
During the summit in Brussels on March 19, European Union leaders were unable to reach an agreement on unblocking the €90 billion loan for Ukraine. Although most heads of state spoke in favor of providing the funds immediately, Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that the European Union will be able to find an alternative solution for providing Ukraine with funds to finance its military if the agreed-upon €90 billion loan cannot be unblocked. He emphasized that Ukraine would be grateful if Europeans could unblock this arrangement, as the absence of an EU loan poses a risk to everyone.
Hungary’s future Prime Minister Péter Magyar hinted that he would not block the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, as the decision has already been made.
