{"id":449339,"date":"2026-04-01T18:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/04\/01\/lue-va-avanti-sui-90-miliardi-a-kiev-e-prepara-modi-e-tempi-di-erogazione-con-focus-sui-droni\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T18:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:47:16","slug":"the-eu-is-pressing-ahead-with-the-e90-billion-package-for-kyiv-and-is-finalising-the-details-of-how-and-when-the-funds-will-be-disbursed-with-a-focus-on-drones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/04\/01\/the-eu-is-pressing-ahead-with-the-e90-billion-package-for-kyiv-and-is-finalising-the-details-of-how-and-when-the-funds-will-be-disbursed-with-a-focus-on-drones\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU is pressing ahead with the \u20ac90 billion package for Kyiv and is finalising the details of how and when the funds will be disbursed, with a focus on drones"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brussels \u2013 Twenty-four hours after a large delegation of European foreign ministers <a href=\"https:\/\/audiovisual.ec.europa.eu\/en\/media\/video\/I-287280\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visited<\/a> <strong>Bucha<\/strong> to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the <strong>massacre of civilians<\/strong> perpetrated by the Russians in the Ukrainian town, the <strong>European Commission<\/strong> is seeking to send concrete signals of support to Kyiv. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_26_764\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press release<\/a> issued today (1 April), the EU executive announced its approval of the proposal to implement the <strong>\u20ac90 billion loan to support Ukraine<\/strong> (the so-called<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_26_90\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ukraine Support Loan<\/a>) for the two-year period 2026\u20132027, which will now be submitted to the <strong>Council of the European Union<\/strong> for formal approval.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Commission\u2019s proposal is based on the <strong>Ukrainian Financing Strategy<\/strong>, presented by the government in Kyiv on 24 March. \u201cWith today\u2019s approval of this document, we are clearly setting out <strong>how much money<\/strong> we intend to lend to Ukraine between now and next year, <strong>for what purposes<\/strong> and through <strong>which channels<\/strong>,\u201d explained Balasz Ujvari, spokesperson for the Berlaymont, at the press briefing. According to the roadmap announced today, therefore, the \u20ac90 billion loan will not reach Kyiv all at once, but will be divided into <strong>two tranches of \u20ac45 billion each<\/strong>: the first is expected to be disbursed by 31 December 2026, whilst the second is scheduled for the end of 2027.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking in more detail at the funds earmarked for this year, approximately <strong>\u20ac16.7 billion<\/strong> will be allocated to <strong>budget support for Kyiv<\/strong> and, as stated in the Commission\u2019s press release, their disbursement \u201cwill remain subject to <strong>strict conditions<\/strong> regarding respect for the rule of law, the fight against corruption, economic resilience, and sustainability.\u201d This allocation of funds will be channelled through two different instruments: the<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/enlargement.ec.europa.eu\/funding-technical-assistance\/ukraine-facility_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ukraine Facility<\/a>, which finances structural reforms and reconstruction projects, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/economy-finance.ec.europa.eu\/eu-financial-assistance\/macro-financial-assistance-mfa_enunding-technical-assistance\/ukraine-facility_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>Macro-financial assistance<\/a>, which comprises loans granted by the EU to ensure immediate liquidity and cover budgetary needs. Regarding the second instrument, Ujvari explained that \u201cas required by European rules, we must draw up a <strong>memorandum of understanding<\/strong> (a formal agreement between Brussels and Kyiv that specifies precisely how the funds will be used, ed.) and we are currently discussing this with Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;The remaining <strong>\u20ac28.3 billion<\/strong> from the 2026 tranche, on the other hand, will be used to <strong>strengthen Ukraine\u2019s defence industry<\/strong>. In this regard, particular attention has been paid to&nbsp;<strong>drones<\/strong>. Normally, when European funds are used to purchase military equipment, at least <strong>65 per cent of the components must come from the European Union<\/strong> or other states participating in the <a href=\"https:\/\/defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu\/eu-defence-industry\/safe-security-action-europe_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SAFE mechanism<\/a> (Security Action For Europe), such as Norway and Iceland. However, to speed up the supply of what Ujvari described as \u201ccrucial tools for Ukraine\u2019s defence,\u201d the Commission has granted an <strong>exemption<\/strong>: Kyiv will be able to purchase drones <strong>from non-European suppliers<\/strong> as well, without having to meet the minimum quota for EU components. In short, the aim is to ensure rapid procurement, even at the cost of compromising on geographical origin.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;The President of the European Commission, <strong>Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>, enthusiastically welcomed today\u2019s outcome, emphasising that the Brussels executive had sent a \u201cclear message: on the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre, we remain fully and firmly by the side of the courageous Ukrainian people and their fight for freedom\u201d. But behind this optimism lies the <strong>main obstacle<\/strong> to the final approval of the \u20ac90 billion loan: <strong>Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/strong> and the <span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/19\/hungarys-orban-continues-to-block-ukraine-loan-at-eu-summit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">veto<\/a>&nbsp;he<\/span>&nbsp;has maintained for weeks on&nbsp;the aid package, linking his approval to the resumption of Russian oil supplies via the <strong>Druzhba pipeline<\/strong>. Budapest claims that Kyiv wants to keep the flow from Ukraine interrupted, doing nothing to repair the damage, while President Volodymyr Zelensky has explained that he can work towards a full restoration of the pipeline\u2019s operations within a month and a half.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/03\/17\/zelenskyy-accepts-eu-offer-on-druzhba-pipeline-full-functionality-within-a-month-and-a-halfithin-a-month-and-a-half\/\"><strong>Having offered its support for resolving the Druzhba situation<\/strong><\/a>\u2014and with the Hungarian parliamentary elections on 12 April approaching, in which Orb\u00e1n appears to be the underdog\u2014Brussels has not ruled out resorting to a Plan B to secure the funds needed to finance Kyiv: <strong>the use of frozen Russian assets<\/strong>. &#8220;During the December Summit, the European Council made it clear that <strong>the option remains on the table<\/strong>, so Member States will return to it if necessary,&#8221; explained Ujvari. While<span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\">, at least for now, the frozen assets remain unusable by the EU, the same cannot be said for the&nbsp;<strong>interest earned on<\/strong><\/span><strong>&nbsp;the deposits<\/strong>. In this regard,&nbsp;<span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\">the Commissionalso<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_26_768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> announced<\/a> today&nbsp;<\/span>&nbsp;that it had received <strong>\u20ac1.4 billion from profits on frozen Russian assets<\/strong>, and von der Leyen reiterated her intention to \u201cuse them for what is most needed: to support Ukraine and its brave armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The proposal from the Berlaymont Building must now receive final approval from the EU Council, but the obstacle of the Hungarian veto remains. The Commission has hinted at a possible Plan B: &#8220;The use of Russian assets remains on the table&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7899,"featured_media":449328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30809,25716,25707],"tags":[25833,33644,28868,28781,26096,33645,30781,27436,33646,30669],"class_list":["post-449339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-defence-security","category-miscellaneous","category-world-politics","tag-aiuti-allucraina","tag-weapons-en","tag-droni-and","tag-commissione-europea-en","tag-prestito-allucraina","tag-ukraine-in-2","tag-ursual-von-der-leyen-en","tag-veto-ungheria","tag-viktor-orban-en-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7899"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449339"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":449340,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449339\/revisions\/449340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}