Ukraine will receive financial aid from EU member states, even if Slovakia and Hungary continue to block a loan of 90 billion euros. This was reported by Politico magazine on Wednesday, citing two diplomatic sources. According to them, the Baltic and Nordic countries are preparing a plan to provide Ukraine with enough money to handle the first half of this year.
- Ukraine is to receive financial aid from the EU even with the ongoing blockade of the loan.
- The planned EU loan for Ukraine is worth ninety billion euros.
- Hungary blocks the loan and sanctions package due to the transit of Russian oil.
- The Baltic and Nordic states are considering bilateral loans to Ukraine worth thirty billion.
- EU officials believe that Fico will step down before Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán.
The heads of state and government of the EU countries will meet next week at the summit of the European Council in Brussels with the aim of persuading Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to approve the promised loan.
Loan and its purpose
The EU loan for Ukraine, on which the leaders agreed back in December, is intended for the years 2026 to 2027. It should consist of military aid, for which Brussels proposes to allocate 60 billion euros. The second part is general support for the functioning of the Ukrainian state and basic public services, for which the remaining 30 billion euros should go.
Orbán blocks the granting of the loan, as well as a new package of anti-Russian sanctions, until the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline is restored. It is enabled by one of the draft laws, which must be approved before the money is paid out and which requires the consent of all member states. Fico also announced that the Slovak Republic is ready to take over the baton from Hungary, where parliamentary elections are held in April, in blocking the loan to Ukraine.
Alternative solutions
Even if both prime ministers refuse to back down, the Baltic and Nordic states plan to provide Ukraine with enough funding to see it through at least the first half of this year, two EU diplomats familiar with the negotiations told Politico. Due to sensitive discussions, they were guaranteed anonymity.
The total amount being considered is 30 billion euros. As these would be bilateral loans between individual states and Ukraine, approval by the European Union would not be necessary.
According to Politico, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen informed his EU colleagues on Tuesday that the government has taken measures to provide Kyiv with bilateral support of 3.5 billion euros a year until 2029.
Individual loans
Ukraine’s financial needs eased after the International Monetary Fund approved an $8.1 billion loan in late February and immediately disbursed $1.5 billion. Kyiv should have enough money to meet its obligations by the beginning of May. Previously, the EU estimated that Ukraine would cease to be solvent at the end of March, which increased the urgency of the 90 billion loan.
Individual loans were discussed before the December summit. However, this option was seen as unacceptable at the time, as it undermined the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine and pointed to deep divisions within the community, Politico wrote. Instead, the countries agreed on a single EU loan. However, if Orbán is unwilling to change his position, individual loans may be the only solution, according to the magazine.
Hungary and Slovakia are causing problems
“It’s not the first time we have similar problems with Hungary,” European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis answered a question on Tuesday. According to him, the EU will provide a loan of 90 billion “one way or another”.
However, Brussels sees the Slovak prime minister as less of an obstacle than Orbán when it comes to blocking the loan, two EU officials said. Efforts to get Fico to cooperate are “well underway,” another Politico source added.
