Von der Leyen: €90 billion loan for Ukraine ‘remains blocked because one leader is not honouring his word’

The European Council, held on 19 March, discussed the latest developments as regards Ukraine and adopted conclusions firmly supported by 25 Heads of State or Government.  

Following its December 2025 decision to provide Ukraine with a support loan of €90 billion for 2026 and 2027, the European Council welcomed the adoption of the loan by the co-legislators. The conclusions also say the European Council “looks forward to the first disbursement to Ukraine by the beginning of April”.  The Council also called for intensified outreach to third countries to help close the remaining gap of €30 billion in Ukraine’s finances.

Commenting on this issue, the European Commission President told journalists after the Council: “The decision was taken by the European Council in December. And there was one condition. The condition that three countries would not participate in the loan, and this condition has been fulfilled. So let us be clear about where we stand. The loan remains blocked because one leader is not honouring his word. But let me reiterate what I already said in Kyiv: we will deliver one way or the other. So yes we have challenging tasks ahead of us but today we have strengthened our resolve.”

The European Union and Member States also confirmed their readiness to contribute to robust and credible security guarantees for Ukraine, notably through the Coalition of the Willing and in cooperation with the United States. This will include supporting Ukraine’s ability to deter aggression and defend itself effectively, also in the long term, including through the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) and the European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine). 

In the Conclusions, the European Council also invited the Council of the European Union to open the clusters in Ukraine’s EU accession talks “without delay”, starting with the fundamentals cluster, in accordance with the enlargement methodology and in line with the merit-based approach.

The Conclusions also state that the European Council is looking forward to the swift adoption of the 20th package of sanctions. The Council reiterated the importance of further reducing Russia’s revenues from energy sales and tightening restrictions on the Russian banking system, and reviewed measures aimed at curbing the activities of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’.

The European Council will revert to these issues at its next meeting.

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Council conclusions on Ukraine

Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Costa following the meeting of the European Council of March 2026