EU considers expediting disbursements to Ukraine of 45 billion euros planned for 2027

The European Commission is exploring the possibility of expediting the provision to Ukraine of a significant portion of the €45 billion earmarked for 2027 under the EU's €90 billion loan programme. The main payments could be concentrated in the early months of next year instead of being evenly distributed throughout the year.

This is not about increasing the overall amount of assistance or moving funds from 2027 to 2026. The option currently being examined in Brussels would involve disbursing the bulk of the €45 billion planned for next year at its start. This would give Ukraine more financial resources during the period of greatest budget strain.

The EU loan of €90 billion is intended for 2026-2027. The official plan foresees roughly €45 billion for each year. Of the total, around €60 billion is to go toward defence support, and another €30 billion to financing the state budget and the basic functions of the state.

According to Euractiv, Ukrainian authorities estimate the financing shortfall in 2026 at about €23.5 billion, and in 2027 at a further €28.4 billion. Additional pressure on budget revenues comes from Russian strikes on industrial enterprises and other infrastructure, which reduce tax receipts.

Previously several EU countries had called for moving part of the funding planned for 2027 to the current year. The European Commission was then more cautious and insisted on sticking to the agreed schedule.

As reported, the European Commission had stated that it was not currently planning to expedite payments to Ukraine and was focused on implementing the already approved programme for 2026-2027. Now Brussels has begun considering a compromise option - not using the 2027 money early in 2026, but moving the majority of payments to the beginning of 2027 itself.

However, any acceleration of payments will depend on Ukraine meeting the programme conditions. Part of the EU financing is tied to reforms and other commitments under budget support mechanisms.

Based on materials from: Euractiv, European Commission