EU still hasn't calculated real gap in Ukraine's budget
The European Commission continues to study Ukraine's financial situation in order to assess the state budget's urgent need for additional funds in 2026 and will only begin discussing potential sources of additional financing once that work is complete.
Source: European Pravda citing European Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári
Details: The European Commission has not yet calculated the real gap in Ukraine's 2026 budget.
"We need to establish the needs before we can potentially discuss ways of addressing it. So that's where the situation stands at the moment," Ujvári said, responding to a question about the possibility of using Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine's benefit.
He said that on 7 September, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis held a video conference with Ukraine's Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi and on Tuesday with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, specifically to gain a better understanding of Ukraine's budgetary needs.
Quote: "What came out of those meetings is that additional work will be needed. Notably also technical level in order to better understand how the fiscal situation is evolving in Ukraine and better there is potentially an emerging financing. So we've got to carry out that work first."
More details: Balázs Ujvári pointed out that the European Commission's priority, above all, is disbursing the €45 billion allocated for 2026 under the €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
Background:
- On 7 September, Valdis Dombrovskis and Serhii Koretskyi, discussed three main issues regarding EU financial assistance to Ukraine.
- Earlier, the EU pointed out that the €90 billion in assistance would cover only two-thirds of Ukraine's needs in 2026-2027.
- It was reported earlier, in the context of the need to swiftly close the gap in Ukraine's military budget, that Europe has put forward a new proposal for using Russia's frozen assets to support Ukraine, seeking to address Belgium's concerns over the legal risks it could face from such a move.
Your support on Patreon helps us keep the news free and accessible.