Council approves nearly €3 billion for Ukraine, with the new loan entering disbursement for the first time

The decision covers a partial payment of €3.047 billion linked to reforms under the Ukraine Plan, before the adjustment of pre-financing, while nearly €800 million will come for the first time from the Ukraine Support Loan. Norway is providing approximately €92 million in non-repayable funding and becomes the first non-EU country to contribute to Pillar I of the Ukraine Facility.

The Council of the European Union has approved a new partial payment for Ukraine worth €3,047,005,318.86 before the adjustment of pre-financing, following an assessment of the reforms and targets achieved under the Ukraine Plan. Nearly €800 million will come for the first time from the Ukraine Support Loan, the new loan component used to finance support for Kyiv.

The decision does not mean that the entire amount has already been transferred. The Council says Ukraine is set to receive the funds, and once this payment is made, the total provided through the Ukraine Facility since mid-2024 will exceed €32 billion.

In brief
The Council found that the conditions had been met for a partial payment of €3.047 billion, relating to outstanding targets from the fifth and seventh instalments and part of the eighth instalment.

Nearly €800 million of the approved payment will come for the first time from the Ukraine Support Loan, according to the Council.

The Council says Ukraine has fulfilled 84 of the 95 targets due so far under the Ukraine Plan, approximately 88% of the total.

Norway is contributing one billion Norwegian kroner, approximately €92 million, in the form of non-repayable support and becomes the first non-EU country to join Pillar I of the mechanism.

Once the new payment is made, Ukraine will have received more than €32 billion through the Ukraine Facility since mid-2024.

The approved amount combines components from three different instalments. Of the total, approximately €386.3 million corresponds to an outstanding part of the fifth instalment, around €368 million to the seventh instalment, and approximately €2.293 billion to the eighth instalment. The amounts are calculated before offsetting the pre-financing already provided to Ukraine.

The mechanism does not operate as an automatic payment determined solely by the calendar. Funds under Pillar I are linked to the reforms and investments included in the Ukraine Plan, and the Commission verifies that the milestones have been met before proposing that the Council authorise the instalments.

For this payment, the Commission found that one outstanding target from the fifth instalment, three targets from the seventh instalment and three of the seven targets assessed for the eighth instalment had been met. The assessment also separately considered three targets from the ninth instalment that had been achieved ahead of schedule and used them as a mitigating factor when calculating the suspended amounts.

The Council summarises the situation by stating that Ukraine has fulfilled a total of 84 of the 95 targets that were due to be completed by this stage. This rate of approximately 88% does not mean that all reforms set out in the Plan have been completed, as the mechanism continues until 2027 and future payments depend on additional milestones.

The Ukraine Facility provides more than €50 billion in grants and loans for the 2024–2027 period. More than €40 billion is linked to the reforms and investments under the Ukraine Plan, the document that combines reconstruction financing with measures relevant to moving closer to the standards required for EU accession.

The new instalment also introduces the Ukraine Support Loan into the actual payment flow. The Council specifies that nearly €800 million will come from this source for the first time. The distinction between the total amount authorised under European agreements and the funds already transferred is important because the financing is released in stages.

Norway’s contribution follows a different logic. The Norwegian government has earmarked one billion kroner for budget support and reforms, including in the areas of anti-corruption and energy. The funds are non-repayable and will be managed through Pillar I, making Norway the first country outside the Union to contribute directly to this component of the Ukraine Facility.

Oslo was already participating in Pillar II, the Ukraine Investment Framework, through which reconstruction investment is mobilised. Therefore, the new decision does not represent Norway’s first involvement in the Ukraine Facility, but rather the first contribution by a non-EU country to the financial support component based on the implementation of reforms.

This distinction is also relevant to information previously published by 2EU about Norway’s commitment. The new element in the Council’s decision is the formal inclusion of the contribution in the Ukraine Plan and the approval of the new European payment, not the first announcement of Norway’s intention to provide the funds.

Once the approved transfer is made, the support paid through the Ukraine Facility since mid-2024 will exceed €32 billion. Future payments will continue to depend on the assessment of the remaining milestones under the Ukraine Plan.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/consiliul-aproba-aproape-3-miliarde-de-euro-pentru-ucraina-iar-noul-imprumut-intra-pentru-prima-data-in-plata