European Commission expects to disburse 1st tranche of loan to Ukraine in 2nd semester of 2026

BRUSSELS. April 14 (Interfax) - The European Commission relies on the corresponding commitment of EU member states and plans to begin disbursing funds to Ukraine under the 90-billion-euro loan for 2026-2027 in the second semester of this year, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said.

"There was an agreement at the level of the EU leaders, an agreement involving all the 27 member states, and we, of course, expect all the EU leaders, all the member states to abide by their commitment. We remain committed to making the first disbursement as part of this package in the course of the second semester of this year," Ujvari said in response to a question at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday.

Ujvari cited European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had previously said that this loan to Kiev would be provided in one way or another.

Ujvari also explained that three of the four documents required for this loan to be allocated still need to be approved. One of these, the strategy for Ukraine has already been adopted and it sets out the amount of funds, the purpose, and the channels through which the EU will disburse them.

Furthermore, the memorandum of understanding, which will serve as the basis for the macro-financial assistance provided under this package, should be finalized. The plan for the Ukraine Fund, which is a major tool of budgetary assistance for Kiev, also needs to be updated. Given that, the package is based on a loan, a loan agreement needs to be prepared and is currently being worked on with the Ukrainian side, he said.

"We are proceeding as quickly as we can," Ujvari said.