Brussels – The approval process for the €90 billion maxi-loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027 is in its final stages. It cannot be otherwise, because according to International Monetary Fund projections, Kyiv’s state coffers will be empty as early as April. Today (11 February), the European Parliament approved, by a large majority and under an urgent procedure, three measures that make up the loan structure. The aim is to enable the Commission to disburse the first tranche as early as the second quarter. For this to happen, all that is now needed is formal adoption by the EU Council.
The package to support Ukraine for 2026–27 consisted of three legislative acts: the proposal for the loan itself, the amendment to the Ukraine Facility (the instrument through which the loan will be disbursed) and the revision of the Union’s multiannual budget, which is necessary to secure borrowing on the markets. With the exception of a few dozen votes, all three were approved with the same broad support: the 90 billion loan to Ukraine, of which 30 billion is macro-financial assistance and 60 billion is military support, was approved with 458 votes in favour, 140 against, and 44 abstentions.
With very few exceptions, the pro-European “platform”, composed of the People’s Party, the Social Democrats (S&D), and the Renew liberals, was united in its support for Ukraine. Almost all of the right-wing Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Greens also approved the loan. The two sovereigntist groups, Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ENS), opposed it. The Left was divided, with 8 members voting in favour, 20 against and 13 abstaining. Among the Italian delegations, Lega and the Five Star Movement opposed the loan. The three Italians from the Green and Left Alliance abstained.
The maxi-loan, as indicated by EU heads of state and government in December, will be financed through EU loans on the capital markets and guaranteed by the EU budget. Kyiv will only be required to repay it after Russia has paid war reparations. Given the opposition of Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, the decision was taken under the enhanced cooperation procedure, with the participation of 24 Member States.
The first loan tranche, 30 billion for economic assistance, will be part of a financing strategy to be prepared by the Kyiv government and approved by member countries. The financing “will be subject to strict conditions, such as respect for the rule of law, including the fight against corruption.” On the remaining two-thirds, those for supporting Ukraine’s capacity to invest in defence industrial capabilities and to purchase military equipment, the Parliament had no choice but to confirm the line decided by the member states, namely that weapons and military equipment should “in principle” be purchased only from companies in the EU, Ukraine itself or EEA-EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway).
The Council has provided for a series of targeted derogations in cases where products are not available in those countries “in the quantities required and with delivery times commensurate with the urgency of the situation and Ukraine’s immediate operational needs,” or where ‘the delivery times for such products are significantly shorter than those for products” from the EU and EEA-EFTA countries.
In such cases, Ukraine will also be able to purchase the armaments it needs from countries that have concluded a bilateral agreement with the EU for access to SAFE, the €150 billion instrument for loans for defence investments, and from those that “have entered into a security and defence partnership with the EU, which have committed to providing a fair and proportionate financial contribution to the costs of the loan and are providing significant financial and military support to Ukraine.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
