The European Commission is ready to consider the possibility of allocating part of the EU loan planned for 2027 to Ukraine as early as early 2026, but no official request from Kyiv has been received yet. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
EU representative Balazs Ujvari stated this at a briefing in Brussels, noting that the issue is under discussion, but no official request has been made yet.
A day earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky announced a funding shortfall of about $27 billion for Ukraine's defense needs this year and proposed early allocation of part of the European loan earmarked for 2027 to cover the shortfall.
"Of course, we are ready to satisfy requests as much as possible. But although the plan we have developed remains in force, the exchange of views with Ukraine continues, and we will consider further operations on this basis," Ujvari said in response to a question whether maintaining the current schedule means the European Commission's rejection of the proposal for early financing.
He clarified that the European Commission has not yet received an official request from Kyiv through bilateral channels to change the timing of 2027 funding.
"We have not yet been officially notified through bilateral channels of the intention to receive funding earlier. Therefore, we are currently focused on implementing the plans we have developed," the EU representative said.
In addition, Ujvari said that Brussels continues to discuss Ukraine's financial needs with the Ukrainian side.
"This is an area where there is a constant exchange between us and Ukraine," he said.
According to the current EU plan, Ukraine is to receive approximately 45 billion euros out of a 90 billion euro loan in 2026 and 2027. Of this year's funds, 28.3 billion euros are allocated for defense needs, and about 17 billion euros for budget support.
To date, the European Commission has approved procurement lists totaling about 22 billion euros from defense funds, of which 8.5 billion euros have already been transferred to Ukraine.