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EU moves ahead with Ukraine loan preparations despite Hungarian block

24 February 2026

The Council of the European Union is expected to approve two pieces of legislation on Tuesday 24 February, allowing technical preparations to continue for a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, despite Hungary blocking a third related document.

European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis said the approval of the Ukraine Support Loan regulation would finalise the political decision-making on the loan and enable work to continue on the financing strategy and other technical preparations. The European Commission aims to begin disbursing the first tranche of funds in April 2026.

Hungary has blocked amendments to the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework, which are required to allow the Commission to borrow on financial markets to fund the loan. Dombrovskis said this does not pose an immediate obstacle, as preparatory work can proceed while political discussions continue.

  • Hungary has blocked the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine by refusing to vote in favour of one of the three pieces of legislation approved by the European Parliament that are required to release the funds – the regulation on amendments to the EU's long-term budget for 2021-2027.
  • All three documents have been approved by the European Parliament and are at the final stage of adoption in the Council of the EU.
  • The plan had been for the documents to be adopted by the Council and signed in the European Parliament on 24 February, marking the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  • Hungary has said it will keep the €90 billion loan blocked until Kyiv restores Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.

Source: commonspace.eu with Ukrainska Pravda

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