The European Commission expects the first tranche of the loan to Ukraine to be disbursed in the second half of the year
European Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári stated during a briefing on 14 April that the first tranche of the loan under the €90 billion package could be disbursed in the second half of this year. According to him, the European Union expects all Member States to honour their commitments.
Ujvári also reiterated the position of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who stated that the EU would provide Ukraine with this loan in any case.
Several more decisions need to be taken to implement the EU programme. These include finalising the memorandum of understanding, updating the Ukraine Plan under the Ukraine Facility mechanism, and preparing the loan agreement.
The European Commission noted that it is maintaining constant contact with the Ukrainian side and is pressing ahead with the preparation of the documents.
The decision to grant Ukraine a €90 billion loan for 2026–2027 was adopted at the EU summit last December. The financing is to be provided through borrowing on the markets, guaranteed by the EU budget.
Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic opposed participating in the loan, but supported the decision itself. It was expected that the first tranche would be disbursed in April, but Hungary blocked the final decision.
Viktor Orbán’s government demanded the resumption of Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline, which had been damaged by Russian shelling.
Following the elections on 12 April, the Fidesz party suffered a defeat. Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisa party, stated that he had no intention of blocking the loan, but noted that Hungary would not contribute to the financing due to the difficult economic situation.
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