The European Parliament will vote on Wednesday on a €90 billion ($107 billion) loan to fund Ukraine’s war effort and keep the state running through 2027, Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced Monday.
Without the money, Ukraine risked running out of cash by April, unable to finance either the military effort or basic state functions.
The vote was moved up two weeks—from a special 24 February session marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion—after the bloc’s three largest political groups agreed to fast-track it.
Without the money, Ukraine risked running out of cash by April, unable to finance either the military effort or basic state functions like pensions, salaries, and hospitals. The loan—€60 billion ($71 billion) for weapons and defense, €30 billion ($36 billion) for budget support—covers roughly two-thirds of Ukraine’s estimated €135.7 billion ($162 billion) funding gap over the next two years.
Defense products must be procured from EU, Ukrainian, or EEA-EFTA companies unless urgently unavailable—a clause that channels the bulk of weapons spending through European industry. If Wednesday’s vote passes, first disbursements could arrive by spring.
How Europe almost failed
This loan was not Europe’s first choice. EU leaders initially wanted to tap €210 billion ($250 billion) in frozen Russian central bank assets—most of it sitting in Belgium’s Euroclear depository—to make Moscow pay for Ukraine’s defense.
What emerged after an all-night Brussels negotiation on 18 December was a compromise.
Belgium blocked the plan, demanding unlimited legal guarantees. Hungary vetoed the reparations loan outright. The Trump administration reportedly lobbied EU countries against touching the frozen assets, arguing they should be preserved for a future peace deal. By the December summit, seven member states—Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Bulgaria, and Malta—had raised objections to the frozen-assets approach.
What emerged after an all-night Brussels negotiation on 18 December was a compromise: joint EU debt backed by the common budget, with Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia opting out through an “enhanced cooperation” mechanism. The EU Parliament already approved that procedure in January by 499 votes to 135.
Who pays, and who probably never will
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Ukraine repays only if Russia pays war reparations—a condition that may never materialize. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz framed the fallback plainly: “If Russia does not pay reparations, we will—in full accordance with international law—make use of Russian immobilized assets for paying back the loan.”
EU leaders gave the Commission a mandate to keep working on a reparations loan mechanism.
Until then, European taxpayers are on the hook. The €210 billion ($250 billion) in frozen Russian assets remains untouched. EU leaders gave the Commission a mandate to keep working on a reparations loan mechanism, with a deadline of end-2027—the same year this loan runs out.
The center-right European People’s Party, center-left Socialists and Democrats, and liberal Renew Europe have the votes to pass the package on Wednesday. A separate extraordinary plenary session will still take place on 24 February to mark the invasion anniversary—but the money won’t wait.
