European Commission explores additional €45bn loan for Ukraine in 2027

The European Commission is working on the possibility of providing Ukraine with an additional €45 billion loan in 2027 to cover funding shortfalls, in addition to the already planned support.

As reported by European Pravda's correspondent in Brussels, according to European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission is exploring options to provide Ukraine with an extra €45 billion in 2027 through a loan scheme similar to the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan.

"We are working to cover Ukraine's funding gap, which has emerged larger than expected. It's additional €70 billion, of which the EU would aim to cover around two-thirds, so to be precise, another €45 billion. But we are currently working on those options to be presented later to member states," Dombrovskis said on the sidelines of the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting.

When asked by a journalist whether the most likely option for covering this deficit is a similar credit scheme involving joint borrowing – backed by Russian assets – the European сommissioner replied: "Well, that's obviously one of the central options we are currently assessing and elaborating on."

In response to a follow-up question about whether sufficient funding could be secured to raise €45 billion in borrowed funds, Dombrovskis expressed cautious optimism.

"We are currently working on this, but I would say I am cautiously optimistic that we will be able to find a solution and to provide this additional funding of €45 billion on top of what is already foreseen," he added.

As European Pravda previously reported, the European Commission acknowledged that the Ukrainian budget indeed lacks €70 billion for 2027, which needs to be covered by international partners.

At the leaders' summit on 15-16 October, the European Council instructed the European Commission to prepare proposals to close the €70 billion shortfall in Ukraine's budget for 2027.