EU proposes final €45B of Ukraine loan for 2027 payout

The European Commission on Oct. 30 proposed that EU governments approve the remaining €45 billion of its €90-billion Ukraine Support Loan for 2027, with the money to be provided by the end of 2027.

The proposal splits the funds into €31.7 billion for Ukraine’s defence industrial capacity and up to €13.3 billion in budget support, the Commission said in its announcement. The budget support is divided equally between the Ukraine Facility and Macro-Financial Assistance.

The package takes the form of a proposed Council implementing decision, which member states must approve. The Commission said disbursements are due in early 2027. The sources reviewed by Canada News Media did not give a date for the Council’s decision.

Ukraine submitted its financing strategy on Oct. 26, and the Commission assessed it positively. The Commission said an earlier decision on April 23, 2026, allocated up to €45 billion for 2026, of which €19.8 billion has been disbursed.

“With today’s proposal, we are providing Ukraine with much-needed predictability and helping maintain essential public services,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner for economy and productivity, said the funding is “more than an act of solidarity” and called on Ukraine’s international partners “to deliver on their share.” Andrius Kubilius, the commissioner for defence and space, said “Europe will continue defending of Ukraine as long as it takes.” The Commission’s release does not name any partner country.

Euronews reported that the €13.3 billion in budget support is conditional on reforms, some tied to Ukraine’s path to EU membership, and that a €3.7-billion payment has already been delayed. It said the €31.7 billion for defence will be paid out as Kyiv submits new weapons contracts, with Brussels concentrating funds in the first half of 2027.

Euronews also reported that Commission officials expect the EU to cover no more than two-thirds of a €70-billion shortfall in Ukraine’s 2027 financing, or about €46 billion, with joint debt the “frontrunner” option for the rest. Our earlier report on the unfilled €70-billion gap explains how that hole opened.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, according to Euronews, that “the sooner we start receiving the corresponding tranches for our drone production, air defence procurement, budget support and other vital expenditures, the better our position in 2027 will be.”

Reuters reported the remaining loan at about US$50.39 billion at current exchange rates.

The announcement came as EU and Canadian leaders met in Montreal. Von der Leyen said strengthening support for Ukraine is “high on the agenda in Montreal.” Canada News Media has reported on the opening of that summit, on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s target of a June deal on closer Canada-EU ties, and on Ukraine’s economic outlook, which the central bank expects to shrink 0.4 per cent.

The Commission’s release did not say whether Canada will be asked to contribute to Ukraine’s 2027 funding.

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Via Euronews and Reuters. Primary source: European Commission.