The Member States of the European Union will shortly approve the draft EU Council Decision to authorise enhanced cooperation for 24 Member States with a view to establishing a macro-financial loan of €90 billion for Ukraine for the period 2026–2027 (see EUROPE 13777/1).
In line with the decisions taken by the European Council on Friday 19 December (see EUROPE 13776/1), twenty-four Member States – all except Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – officially asked the European Commission on Monday 22 December to submit an enhanced cooperation arrangement (based on Article 20 TEU) to the Council of the EU to prepare this loan to Ukraine covered by the margin for manoeuvre in the EU budget.
The European Commission followed up with a draft decision. In their opinion, the provision of a new loan to Ukraine will support the achievement of EU objectives such as peace and security (Article 3 TEU), sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability. Since Ukraine is a candidate for EU membership, this initiative is also, in the European Commission’s view, a strategic investment in stability and prosperity in Europe. It will also strengthen the European defence technological and industrial base.
The three non-participating Member States will not contribute to the financing of enhanced cooperation expenditure nor to the coverage of the guarantee for contingent liabilities.
“Over the course of January”, the European Commission will put forward a legislative proposal to amend the regulation governing the 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to allow the EU to grant a loan to a third country, as well as a second proposal on the terms and conditions attached to the future loan, a spokesperson for the EU institution said on Monday 5 January.
The aim is to finalise the legislative procedure so that Ukraine is in a position to receive initial financing in the second quarter of 2026.
See the letter from the twenty-four EU countries: https://aeur.eu/f/k5r
See the draft decision of the Council of the EU: https://aeur.eu/f/k5s (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)