The European Union has approved a decision to provide Ukraine with 90 billion euros in financing. The funds will be available early next year, Politico reports, citing a statement by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to Merz, the money for Ukraine may arrive no later than the second half of January. This is a loan that will be provided within the framework of a joint decision of the European Union countries.
The German Chancellor also stated that frozen Russian state assets in Europe could be used to repay this loan if Russia does not voluntarily agree to pay reparations to Ukraine after the end of the war.
" The frozen Russian assets will remain blocked until Russia pays Ukraine reparations. Ukraine will have to repay the loan only after Russia pays reparations. If this does not happen, we will — in full accordance with international law — use the frozen Russian assets to repay the loan ," Merz emphasized.
European Council President Antonio Costa, for his part, confirmed that negotiations on a legal mechanism for using Russia's frozen assets are ongoing. According to him, the European Commission has received a mandate to continue work on a reparations loan based on these funds.
The mechanism envisages that all EU countries, except the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, will join forces to raise €90 billion in joint debt guaranteed by the EU budget. Ukraine will receive these funds in the form of a loan over 2026–2027.
The debt is planned to be repaid from future Russian military reparations. At the same time, the final statement of EU leaders following the summit states that in the event of Russia's refusal to pay compensation, the European Union reserves the right to use frozen Russian state assets to repay the loan funds.
The agreement will allow Ukraine to cover its €71.7 billion state budget deficit next year and ensure further funding for defense against Russian aggression. In parallel, EU diplomats will continue work on the technical and legal aspects of the reparations mechanism.
The decision was made on the morning of December 19 in Brussels after almost 15 hours of negotiations. Antonio Costa stated that the European Union had fulfilled its commitments to support Ukraine.
" We have an agreement. The decision to provide Ukraine with support in the amount of 90 billion euros for 2026–2027 has been made. We promised - we delivered ," he emphasized.
