Enhanced cooperation on the establishment of a Loan for Ukraine
PURPOSE: to authorise enhanced cooperation on the establishment of a Loan for Ukraine.
PROPOSED ACTION: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: since Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, the Union, its Member States and European financial institutions have mobilised unprecedented support for Ukraine’s economic, social, financial and defence resilience. That support combines support from the Union budget, in particular by means of macro-financial assistance under the form of the Macro Financial Assistance+, the Ukraine Facility and the Ukraine Loan Cooperation, and support from the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, fully or partially guaranteed by the Union budget, as well as further financial support by Member States.
On 23 October 2025, 26 Member States committed to address Ukraine’s pressing financial needs for 2026-2027, including for its military and defence efforts. Those Member States further concluded that all military support as well as security guarantees for Ukraine will be provided in full respect of the security and defence policy of certain Member States and taking into account the security and defence interests of all Member States. It was agreed that, subject to Union law, Russia’s assets should remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates it for the damage caused by its war.
In the absence of a unanimous agreement on the use of the EU budget beyond the ceilings of the multiannual financial framework (MFF), it was decided to resort to enhanced cooperation between a group of Member States in order
to grant Ukraine a loan of EUR 90 billion for 2026-2027, financed by an EU borrowing on the capital markets, giving effect to the conclusions of the European Council of 18 December 2025.
This proposal accompanies the proposed regulation aimed at implementing enhanced cooperation regarding the establishment of the support loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027.
CONTENT: under the proposed decision, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Croatia, Ireland, Greece, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Finland, Spain, Italy and Sweden would be allowed to establish enhanced cooperation among themselves on the establishment of a Loan for Ukraine.
The envisaged enhanced cooperation supports different objectives which will reinforce the integration process in accordance with Article 20(1) TEU.
The provision of financial aid to Ukraine:
- would contribute to the achievement of the Union’s objectives as set out in Article 3 TEU, in particular to peace and security in the Union and in the world as well as to the sustainable development of Europe based inter alia on balanced economic growth and price stability;
- would constitute a strategic investment of the Union in peace, security, stability and prosperity in Europe and allows the Union to be better positioned to address global challenges while contributing to the implementation of the Ukraine Facility Regulation (EU) 2024/792 and its focus on rule of law reforms, public administration reform and the functioning of democratic institutions as key fundamentals for accession;
- would be beneficial for the internal market and would provide increased economic and trade opportunities to the mutual benefit of the Union and Ukraine, while supporting a gradual transformation of the country including through the implementation of the Ukraine Plan;
- would support objectives which would be beneficial for the reinforcement of the European Defence and Technological Industrial basis, in a context where several instruments and programmes of the Union promote defence industrial cooperation with Ukraine.
The enhanced cooperation authorised by this Decision, which consists in having a group of Member States providing a financial assistance to Ukraine, complies with the Treaties and Union law and is to be organised in a way which does not undermine the internal market or economic, social or territorial cohesion. It respects the competences, rights and obligations of non-participating Member States and is open at any time to all the Member States which want to participate in it under the terms defined in this Decision.