Ukraine will equally receive loans from the countries of the European Union, even if Hungary and Slovakia continue to block a loan of €90 billion, Politico reported on March 11, citing two EU diplomats, the PromPolitInform portal informs.
The group of countries of Northern Europe and the Baltic States is ready to provide €30 billion. Since these will be bilateral loans, they will not require EU approval, the media said.
However, EU leaders will still meet at a summit in Brussels next week to persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to approve a loan of €90 billion, which should provide two-thirds of the funds needed by Ukraine by the end of 2027.
If they refuse to concede, €30 billion will be enough for Ukraine for the first half of 2026, said two EU diplomats familiar with the negotiations.
As the EU Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis pointed out in a conversation with the media, this is not the first time that the European Union is facing “similar difficulties with Hungary.” “We will provide this loan one way or another,” he added.
Separately, Dutch Finance Minister Elko Geinen told his counterparts on Tuesday that his government has provided Kyiv with €3.5 billion a year in bilateral support until 2029, two other diplomats told the media.
The idea of providing individual funding to Ukraine has already been discussed before the December summit, at which the leaders of all EU member states agreed to continue work on a common loan for Ukraine. At that time, the option of individual loans was considered unacceptable, since it undermined the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine and exposed deep disagreements in the bloc, Politico points out.
But if Orban refuses to withdraw his objections, this may be the only way, adds the media.
Politico also notes that Kyiv’s financing needs decreased after the International Monetary Fund late last month approved an $8.1 billion loan, immediately paying back $1.5 billion. The country should have enough money to remain solvent until early May, four interlocutors told the media.
Previous EU estimates indicated that Kyiv could go bankrupt at the end of March, which would increase the urgency of providing €90 billion.
The issue of allocating a loan seemed settled until, due to the attack of the Russian Federation, the Druzhba pipeline was damaged, through which Russian oil was transported through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.
Budapest said that to approve the loan, Ukraine should resume oil transit through the pipeline. In Slovakia, they indicated that they were ready to “take over the baton from Hungary,” if necessary.
According to media sources, Kyiv and Brussels expect that if Orban loses the elections in April, opposition leader Peter Magyar may be more inclined to approve a loan for Ukraine, especially if the pipeline is repaired or if Hungary receives some other benefit from the EU.
Diplomats expressed the hope that he could be motivated by a desire to unfreeze EU funds for Hungary.
- On December 19, the EU agreed on a large-scale package of financial assistance for Ukraine for €90 billion, designed for 2026-2027. The loan is planned to be provided with the help of EU borrowings in the capital markets and will be supported by the EU budget reserve. According to Politico, 24 out of 27 EU countries will take part in joint borrowings, except for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- On January 14, the European Commission presented a proposal for the use of a loan for Ukraine. And on January 21, MEPs approved the use of the “enhanced cooperation” mechanism to provide Ukraine with an EU loan of €90 billion. It allows you to decide on a loan without the consent of all EU countries.
- On February 4, the EU Council approved an interest-free loan to Ukraine. On February 11, the European Parliament voted for him.
- On February 20, Hungary stopped the approval of an EU loan of €90 billion for Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyyarto said that the blocking will continue until the resumption of oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.
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