The EU is preparing rules for €90 billion: when Ukraine can receive the first funds from the joint loan
12 January 21:35
The European Commission is preparing to publish a proposal for a regulation that will determine the conditions for providing Ukraine with financing within the framework of a joint European loan. This refers to a support mechanism agreed upon by EU leaders at the summit in Brussels on December 18–19, 2025.
This was announced during a briefing in Brussels by European Commission spokesman Balazs Uzhvari, according to Ukrinform , as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
When can the money be expected?
According to Uzhvari, the European Commission plans to submit the necessary legislative proposals as soon as possible in order to start payments to Ukraine at the beginning of the second quarter of this year.
“We need to propose a number of legislative acts as soon as possible so that we can start disbursing funds,” the spokesman said.
The package of documents is expected to be presented in the near future. It will determine the technical and political conditions for receiving the tranches.
What remains unknown
The European Commission is refraining from providing details about the future regulation. In particular, it is not yet revealing what the ratio between budgetary and defense assistance will be within the credit program.
“You will find the answer as soon as the proposals are submitted,” Uzhvari said, commenting on the question of the financing structure.
This caution is explained by the fact that the document is still in the preparation stage and must undergo approval procedures in EU institutions.
90 billion euros in support
The draft regulation is part of a broader European Union decision on long-term support for Ukraine. On December 19, European Council President António Costa announced that EU leaders had agreed to provide Ukraine with €90 billion in support for 2026-2027.
The funding is in the form of a loan from the EU budget and is set to become one of the key financial instruments for supporting Ukraine during the war.
Not all countries are in favor
At the same time, the decision is not entirely unanimous. Three EU member states — the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia — will not participate in the implementation of this loan mechanism. This means that the funding will take place without their contribution, but it does not block the overall decision of the Union.
A similar model of a “coalition of the willing” has already been used in the EU in sensitive financial and security issues.
A political signal to Moscow
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously emphasized that the EU’s decision to provide €90 billion in support is not only a financial but also a political signal.
In his opinion, this demonstrates to Russia the European Union’s readiness for long-term support for Ukraine and confidence that the country will prevail in the war.
The next step will be the publication of the European Commission’s proposals and the start of their discussion in the EU. The speed of the adoption of the regulation will determine whether Ukraine will be able to receive the first tranches as early as spring — at the beginning of the second quarter of the year.
For Kyiv, this is not only a matter of financial stability, but also of predictability of support from a key partner in the coming years.
