EU plans to send a new 45 billion euros to Kyiv in 2027
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Kyiv's projected budget shortfall of 70 billion euros ($78.3 billion) in 2027 will be partially bridged by the European Union if it can agree on a new 45 billion euro ($50.4 billion) loan, as teased by the EU's Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Nov. 9.
Dombrovskis mentioned the plan to provide a 45 billion-euro loan ahead of a meeting of EU economy ministers, a move that was separately confirmed to the Kyiv Independent by EU and national diplomats.
It will come on top of a separate pledge of 45 billion euros that the bloc is set to provide Ukraine in 2027 as part of the 90 billion euro ($100.7 billion) loan put together in April 2026.
However, even if agreed, Kyiv would still face a shortfall of roughly 25 billion euros ($28 billion). For this, Brussels is expecting third countries to step up.
Some countries have already announced pledges for 2027, including Norway, the U.K., and Canada.
For the new 45 billion euro loan proposal to be approved, the European Commission first needs to circulate the plan in the coming days, and then countries need to agree on the terms, where EU and national diplomats have confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that they see two main issues.
The first will be about whether all countries participate. For the 90 billion loan, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia opted out, meaning they are not contributing to its interest payments.
Diplomats in the EU, EU member states, and Ukraine have separately said they expect the same to be the case for this new loan, and that Bulgaria will also seek an opt-out.
Bulgaria is expected to opt out this time because, since the 90 billion euro loan was approved, its government has changed and is now led by the more pro-Russian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
The other question is how to cover the loan's interest payments. EU countries will be expected to service the debt, but that comes as they are having to increase their defense spending at home, and finalize how much they will all pay into the next EU budget as a whole.
