EU Seeks Up to $19 Billion for Ukraine in 2026
Brussels is urgently looking for ways to cover Ukraine's budget deficit of up to $19 billion next year.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to the Financial Times.
According to the publication's sources, the European Commission is discussing various options for support with EU member states. These include providing military aid to Ukraine in the form of off-budget grants, early disbursement of loans from the existing $50 billion support programme for Kyiv under the G7 agreement, and further use of Russian state assets frozen in the EU.
Ukraine's projected budget deficit for next year is not yet covered by external financing.
"Concerns about next year are growing, and many stakeholders who were counting on a ceasefire agreement this year are having to recalculate their spending and realise that, no matter how hard they try, they will still have a (financial) hole," said a senior EU official involved in discussions with Kyiv.
The Commission, officials told the Financial Times, has already been forced to adjust its spending on Ukraine-related funding streams for 2025 in response to the continuing war and the lack of confidence in a quick ceasefire.
According to IMF estimates, Ukraine's financial needs for next year are covered, but only if the war ends this year or in mid-2026 — a scenario that Ukraine and the EU do not share.
One of the proposals that Kyiv has shared with the G7 countries and which is being considered by the European Commission is to provide military support to Ukraine in the form of bilateral grants, which will be accounted for separately as ‘extra-budgetary external transfers’ but will also be taken into account for national defence spending purposes.
This would achieve a dual purpose: to contribute to NATO's commitment to increase national defence spending to 5% of GDP and to provide support to Ukraine.
‘Instead of duplicating capabilities, European allies could jointly finance the Ukrainian armed forces, viewing this as a service that Ukraine provides to strengthen the security of the continent,’ according to a document sent by Kyiv to its G7 allies and seen by the publication.
According to two people familiar with the matter, the commission was to discuss this and other options with EU finance ministers on Monday evening.
Denmark, which holds the EU Council presidency, confirmed that the European Union is currently discussing how to provide Ukraine with additional funding for the future.
Kyiv expects a deficit of at least $8 billion for 2026, even if some of the promised funds are provided earlier, in particular by partners including the EU, Japan and the US. If this does not happen, the funding gap could reach $19 billion.
As The Gaze reported earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for a significant increase in the European Union’s military support for Ukraine, following the recent suspension of certain U.S. arms deliveries.