Commission delivers a further €1 billion to Ukraine under its part of the G7 loan, to be repaid with proceeds from immobilised Russian assets

Today, the European Commission has disbursed an additional €1 billion tranche of its exceptional Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) loan to Ukraine, to be repaid with proceeds from immobilised Russian State assets in the EU, reinforcing the EU's role as the largest donor since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine.

In total, the MFA amounts to €18.1 billion, representing the EU's contribution to the G7-led Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans initiative, which collectively aims to provide approximately €45 billion in financial support to Ukraine.

With this payment, the Commission's total lending to Ukraine under this MFA reaches €4 billion since the start of the year. Discussions with Ukraine are ongoing regarding the timeline for subsequent disbursements. The Commission stands ready to frontload the remaining MFA funds in line with the country's needs, as called for by the European leaders in the Special European Council earlier this month.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission said: “With today's payment of €1 billion, we are reiterating our steadfast commitment to Ukraine. We are helping the country's economy stay on course and rebuild critical infrastructure damaged by Russian aggression. We will keep supporting Ukraine as long as it takes."

Background  

How this exceptional MFA package is supporting Ukraine

This MFA is crucial for addressing Ukraine's urgent budgetary needs, which have considerably risen in the face of Russia's intensified and prolonged war of aggression.

With this €18.1 billion financial support, Ukraine will be able to support its current and future military, budget and reconstruction needs, restoring critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia, such as energy infrastructure, water systems, transport networks, roads and bridges.

The MFA instrument offers high flexibility and very favourable terms to Ukraine, with very long maturities which can extend up to 45 years. Importantly, Ukraine is not expected to directly repay the loan from its own resources. Instead, the repayment will be ensured through the extraordinary profits from immobilised Russian assets collected from the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism (ULCM), sending a clear signal that the burden of rebuilding Ukraine will be shouldered by those responsible for its destruction.  

Overall support the EU has provided to Ukraine so far

Since the onset of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU, together with its Member States, has unequivocally condemned Russia's actions and has offered unprecedented support to Ukraine and its people. As the largest donor, the EU has contributed to nearly €140 billion in total, including:

• €71.3 billion in financial and budget support, and humanitarian assistance;
• €49.3 billion in military assistance for Ukraine under the European Peace Facility and by Member States individually;
• €17 billion made available to Member States to cater for the needs of people fleeing the war;
• €1.5 billion generated from proceeds linked to frozen and immobilised Russian sovereign assets (windfall profits).

Quote(s)

With today’s payment of €1 billion, we are reiterating our steadfast commitment to Ukraine. We are helping the country’s economy stay on course and rebuild critical infrastructure damaged by Russian aggression. We will keep supporting Ukraine as long as it takes.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

Today, we transfer to Ukraine a second payment worth €1 billion under the G7-led Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans initiative. The EU has now provided Ukraine with €4 billion as part of its overall €18.1 billion contribution under this initiative, and will make a further payment in April. We stand ready to frontload financial support to Ukraine, if necessary. The financing provided will be used to help Ukraine maintain macroeconomic stability, rebuild infrastructure, and continue its fight against Russian aggression. The ERA initiative makes Russia pay for its aggression by using the proceeds of immobilised Russian state assets to repay the loans provided. The EU will continue to stand by Ukraine by providing all necessary support and continuing to target Russia’s capacity to wage war. We are working with our G7 partners to fully implement the ERA initiative.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification