Council of the EU approves two acts for €90bn Ukraine loan, third blocked by Hungary

The General Affairs Council has approved two legislative acts necessary to prepare a €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026-2027 on 24 February, but key amendments to the EU budget remain unapproved due to Hungary's position.

Source: European Pravda's correspondent in Brussels

Details: On 24 February, the Council of the EU approved two bills enabling the EU to provide a €90 billion loan to Ukraine. However, the third document – amendments to the EU long-term budget – remains blocked by Hungary.

"Today, we formally adopted the regulations on the Ukraine support loan and the Ukraine Facility as planned," said Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European Affairs of the Cyprus EU Presidency, at the end of the Council meeting.

She emphasised that "at a time when Russia is intensifying strikes on critical key infrastructure and as humanitarian needs intensify, the EU must stand firm in its support towards Ukraine. The Cyprus Presidency has made this a top priority, and we remain committed to delivering in this regard."

After the documents were approved, Cyprus's Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola formally signed the legislative acts.

Background:

• Previously, EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told European Pravda that these documents will allow technical preparations to begin so that Ukraine can receive the first tranche of the €90 billion loan in April 2026, despite Hungary's refusal to approve one of the bills required for the disbursement.
• Hungary has blocked the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine by refusing to vote in favour of one of the three pieces of legislation approved by the European Parliament that are required to release the funds – the regulation on amendments to the EU's long-term budget for 2021-2027.
• All three documents have been approved by the European Parliament and are at the final stage of adoption in the Council of the EU.
• The plan had been for the documents to be adopted by the Council and signed in the European Parliament on 24 February, marking the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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