Mathernova on €90 billion loan: Extremely favorable terms for Ukraine
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova praised the European Council's decision to provide a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine through joint borrowing, which will help Ukraine remain sustainable over the next two years.
Mathernova spoke in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform following a long night of difficult discussions in the European Council in Brussels.
“Fantastic news for Ukraine not to be on financial precipices, avoiding liquidity crisis. Financing is now guaranteed. This was achieved on the condition that three countries are spared of additional financial obligations connected with the joint loan guaranteed by the EU budget,” the ambassador stressed.
She noted that the loan is provided to Ukraine on excellent terms. It’s a zero-interest loan. And it doesn’t need to be repaid unless Russia pays reparations to Ukraine for the damage inflicted during armed aggression.
The ambassador highlighted several important points about the arrangement.
“The EU delivered on the commitments undertaken at their informal meetings in Copenhagen on October 1 to provide financing to Ukraine. There were different plans on the table, and when Plan A, which is the reparations loan involving immobilized Russian assets, didn’t work out, the leaders came up with Plan B,” said Mathernova.
She explained that the loan is backed by the EU budget headroom, so no additional burden is put on the national budgets of EU member states.
At the same time, the ambassador noted that, given that the leaders called on the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to continue working on the technical and legal aspects of the instruments establishing a Reparations Loan based on the cash balances associated with Russia’s immobilised assets, such work will continue.
As reported by Ukrinform, European Council President António Costa announced that EU leaders had agreed to provide Ukraine with €90 billion in support for the period of 2026–2027.
Three EU member states—the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia—will not participate in the decision to allocate a €90 billion loan from the EU budget to Ukraine.
Commenting on the EU's decision, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the importance of the fact that Russian assets remain frozen and Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years.
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