Reforms first: EU refuses to provide Ukraine with additional funds ahead of schedule

The European Union has refused to provide Ukraine with additional funding for 2026 ahead of schedule until Kyiv meets certain conditions regarding reforms. This concerns funds from an EU loan of 90 billion euros, part of which was supposed to cover Ukraine’s financial and defense needs.

This is reported by the Financial Times .

In the summer, Ukraine identified additional military needs of $27 billion and appealed to the European Commission to provide funds from the EU loan of €90 billion ahead of schedule.

The loan is intended to cover most of Ukraine’s financing needs in 2026 and 2027. It was expected to provide up to 45 billion euros each year, subject to the implementation of certain stages of reforms. This year, Ukraine received 15.7 billion euros. This was partly due to delays in implementing reform requirements.

Among the conditions for receiving additional funding are the introduction of VAT on small parcels and the introduction of new rules for taxing digital platforms. The Verkhovna Rada has adopted the relevant measures, but the document contains an amendment that relaxes the rules on politically exposed persons (PEPs).

The European Union has demanded tougher rules on politically exposed persons to combat corruption. If signed into law, the amendment could jeopardize Ukraine’s compliance with conditions attached to EU funding.

European Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Marta Kos, in a letter to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, emphasized that additional financial assistance for 2026 remains available to Ukraine, provided that the necessary reforms are implemented.

“Avoiding any weakening of Ukraine’s regulatory system for politically exposed persons (PEPs)” was “critically important,” the letter said.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the need for further funding, in particular to increase the production of drones and interceptors amid increased Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Brussels rejected a request to receive funds planned for 2027 ahead of schedule, while about €34 billion in EU support could be available this year if Kyiv implements the necessary reforms.

We would like to remind you that the State Budget of Ukraine received almost 2.9 billion euros from the European Union as part of the eighth regular payment under the Ukraine Facility program . About 800 million euros of this amount was received by Ukraine for the first time through the Ukraine Support Loan (USL) mechanism.

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