Overview
- EU ministers signed off on a fifth Ukraine Facility disbursement worth over €1.8 billion, reflecting nine completed steps for the fifth tranche plus one carried over from the fourth.
- Draft Council papers point to a combined partial transfer of about €1.949 billion, including roughly €597 million from the fourth tranche and €1.352 billion from the fifth, with nearly €600 million tied to ARMA reform.
- The fifth tranche was cut because two reforms remain unfinished — on judicial integrity checks and digitalizing enforcement — which must be delivered by end-Q2 2026 or the withheld funds could be forfeited.
- A high-level meeting between the European Commission and Belgium is set for Friday to address Brussels’ proposed €140 billion reparations-style loan backed by immobilised Russian assets held at Euroclear, with Belgium seeking strong legal and financial guarantees.
- Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis cautioned that bridge funding may be needed in early 2026, as Ukraine faces a 2026–27 financing gap estimated at about $61 billion and looks to build buffers through other loans and domestic measures.