EU asks partners to help support Ukraine in Q1 2026 - European Commissioner
The European Union is calling on third countries to accelerate their financial assistance to Ukraine by providing it in the first quarter of 2026, when Ukraine will already face a funding shortfall and the EU may need more time to determine and implement its own support mechanism.
EU Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, and Implementation and Simplification Valdis Dombrovskis stated this in response to a request to comment on Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg's remark that the EU would not ask Norway or other countries to participate in loan schemes for Ukraine.
"Obviously, it is important that we also work with our international partners, including G7 partners, including other partners Norway, and that they also meaningfully contribute to covering Ukraine's funding and aid, and we continue this engagement," he said.
He added that in discussions, the European Commission "is specifically raising the point with the partners on possibilities to frontload their financial support in the first quarter of next year to address Ukraine's urgent funding needs."
He acknowledged that the EU may need more time to develop financing options for Ukraine for 2026–2027 and then to implement the final mechanism.
He recalled that the United Kingdom and Canada have expressed interest and readiness to replicate a "reparation loan-style" approach related to immobilized Russian sovereign assets held in their jurisdictions, and that they are also in contact with the Japanese government on this issue.
Regarding Norway, Dombrovskis noted that next year Norway intends to provide Ukraine with the same significant level of financial support as this year — about EUR 7.3 billion.
"So, Norway is certainly a partner which is cooperating and providing very substantial financial support to Ukraine," he concluded.
As Ukrinform reported, the European Union does not plan to officially ask Norway to participate in Ukraine loan schemes to cover the financial deficit for 2026–2027; however, Norway has already tripled its financial assistance to Ukraine, Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told journalists today.
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