The European Commission has said negotiations to finalise the procedures needed to release the first payment of a €90 billion loan for Ukraine are progressing “very well”, with Brussels hoping to give the final go-ahead “very soon” and the money expected to start reaching Kyiv within weeks.
Speaking at a briefing in Brussels on May 18, European Commission economic spokesman Balázs Ujvári said the talks were close to completion.
“The negotiations are going very well. Give us a bit more time and we hope to be able to give the definitive green light on this front very soon,” Ujvári said.
He said three documents were still outstanding before the first tranche could be paid, though the most advanced was the memorandum of understanding underpinning the macro-financial assistance programme.
“We are not there yet, but we have made significant progress,” he said.
Ujvári said such agreements rested on three pillars: an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, economic reforms and certain political conditions. Ukraine already had an active IMF programme, one of the requirements that underpin the European Union instrument.
The loan is designed to cover Kyiv’s most pressing budgetary needs and to reinforce its defence capacity against the Russian invasion.
Member states gave the package final approval in April, alongside the EU’s 20th round of sanctions against Russia. The measures were signed off after Hungary and Slovakia dropped objections when Ukraine restarted oil flows following repairs to the damaged Druzhba pipeline.
The loan will be financed through EU debt issued on the markets. About €30 billion is earmarked for Ukraine’s most immediate economic needs, while around €60 billion is intended to strengthen its military industry.
Brussels had initially hoped to activate the first payment before the end of May. The wider plan foresees mobilising about €45 billion by the end of this year, with the remaining half of the instrument reserved for 2027.
The loan was agreed by the European Council in December 2025. The €90 billion is intended to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s estimated financial needs for the period concerned. Because Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia opted out, it was taken under the enhanced cooperation procedure, which allows willing member states to act without unanimity.
Ukraine is not expected to pay the money back from its own funds, with the capital only due when Russia starts paying reparations once the war is over.
