Overview
- EU leaders gave unanimous final approval on Thursday in Nicosia to a €90 billion loan for Ukraine that will be financed by EU-issued joint debt backed by the EU budget.
- The package is structured as roughly €30 billion for Ukraine’s civil budget and €60 billion for defense investment, and only 24 of 27 member states will fund it, excluding Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- Officials expect an initial tranche of about €3.2–€3.7 billion in June, pending signature of the loan agreement and a memorandum that sets public finance and anti-fraud rules.
- The defense track will launch with a €6 billion drone-production program that received a specific exception to use Chinese-made components because EU-made parts were not available fast enough.
- Hungary’s months-long veto ended after Ukraine repaired the Druzhba oil pipeline and Russian oil flows to Hungary resumed this week, clearing the way for the unanimous decision.