The European Union’s €90 billion ($105 billion) loan for Ukraine isn’t an ending. It’s a countdown.EU leaders approved the emergency funding early Friday after disagreeing on tapping €210 billion ($246 billion) in frozen Russian assets, according to European Council conclusions.
But they also gave the Commission a mandate to keep working on the reparations loan mechanism—and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made clear where this is heading.
“Financing Ukraine beyond 2027 will be part of the next long-term EU budget discussion,” she wrote on X.
“We reserve our right to use the cash balances from Russian assets immobilised in the EU to finance the loan.”
Translation: the €90 billion buys time. The fight for the frozen assets continues.
What has to happen next
The reparations loan failed because Belgium demanded unlimited guarantees against Russian legal retaliation. Most of the other member states refused.
That standoff hasn’t been resolved—only postponed.
Estonian MP Marko Mihkelson, chairman of Estonia’s foreign affairs committee, told Times Radio the decision doesn’t close the door. EU nations that wanted to use the frozen assets will have to keep pushing, he said.
European Council President António Costa was explicit at the press conference following the European Council meeting: “We gave a mandate to the Commission to continue working on the Reparations Loan based on Russian immobilised assets.”
The technical and legal work continues. The political will remains untested.
The 2027 problem
The €90 billion covers roughly two-thirds of Ukraine’s estimated needs through 2027. After that, Europe faces the same question it just ducked: borrow more, or finally touch Russia’s money?
One EU diplomat told Reuters the compromise amounted to “saving face” rather than solving the problem. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever saw it differently:
“Ukraine gets its money. Maybe not the way it wanted, but it gets its money.”
Both are right. Ukraine gets funding now. But European taxpayers—not Russia—are on the hook. And the €210 billion sits in Euroclear, untouched.
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Kyiv plays the long game
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a careful note. He thanked EU leaders for “significant support that truly strengthens our resilience,” stating that “Russian assets remain immobilized” and Ukraine received “a financial security guarantee for the coming years.”
The loan is interest-free. Ukraine repays only if Russia pays war reparations—a condition that may never materialize.
For Kyiv, the message matters as much as the money: Europe found a way forward despite Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic opting out. The frozen assets remain leverage for future negotiations—whether with Moscow or with hesitant EU members.
What to watch
The EU’s next long-term budget negotiations must conclude by the end of 2027—the same year this €90 billion loan runs out. That’s when Europe will have to decide again: keep borrowing, or use Russia’s money?
Two years. €210 billion still frozen. The clock is ticking.
