Brussels is calling on Western partners to pay Ukraine 45 billion euros in loans early to ease the war-torn country's financial situation before more money is allocated from the EU.
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EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will urge ministers from Japan, the UK and the US to release payments under the so-called Emergency Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loan during a visit to Washington this week, three officials said, Euractiv reported.
The EU has already paid in full its share of the €18.1 billion loan, which was agreed by the G7 group of Western countries in 2024 and secured by frozen Russian central bank assets held at Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house. About €7 billion under the scheme has yet to be disbursed, while Japan, the UK and the US have yet to pay their shares.
Dombrovskis, who is in the United States this week for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, plans to hold meetings with G7 ministers. He also aims to hold bilateral talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
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This also comes against the backdrop of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocking a separate loan to Kyiv in the amount of 90 billion euros.
Peter Magyar, who defeated Orban in Sunday's election by a landslide, suggested on Monday that he would lift Budapest's veto on the loan, which is backed by the bloc's long-term budget. But EU officials warn that Hungary's domestic politics and incomplete EU documentation mean the loan could only be disbursed by early May. Ukraine is expected to face a financial crisis in mid-July.
According to the European Commission, Ukraine's total budget and military financing needs are estimated at approximately €135 billion for 2026 and 2027.
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It was previously reported that the EU postponed the first tranche of a loan to Ukraine for 90 billion euros.