Northern European countries to provide Ukraine with EUR 30 bln without EU approval if veto of Hungary, Slovakia not unblocked – media

Ukraine will receive EUR 30 billion from the Baltic and Northern European countries for its military needs if Hungary and Slovakia continue to block the previously approved EU reparations loan of EUR 90 billion, Politico wrote on Wednesday, citing its own sources.

"EU leaders will meet for a summit in Brussels next week, hoping to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to stick to their promise to approve the loan, which is supposed to provide two-thirds of the money Ukraine needs to continue fighting the Russian invasion until the end of 2027. But if the pair refuse to back down, Baltic and Nordic countries have a plan to give Ukraine enough money to keep it afloat through the first half of this year, said the two EU diplomats familiar with the discussions. They were granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive negotiations, as were others in this story," the report notes.

Another informed source said a sum of EUR 30 billion is being considered. Since these would be bilateral loans, they would not require EU approval, the publication reported.

Separately, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told his colleagues Tuesday that his government has set aside the possibility of sending Kyiv EUR 3.5 billion per year in bilateral support through 2029, Politico reported, citing two other diplomats.

The idea of individual financing for Ukraine by member countries was already discussed before the December summit, at which all EU member state leaders agreed to extend one EU loan. The individual loan option was considered unacceptable at the time because it undermined EU solidarity with Ukraine and exposed deep divisions in the bloc. But if Orban refuses to lift his blockade of the loan, it may be the only way forward.

"It’s not the first time we are facing a similar kind of difficulties with Hungary," the EU’s Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in response to a question from POLITICO on Tuesday. "We will deliver on this loan one way or another."

The publication notes that Ukraine’s financing needs have decreased after the International Monetary Fund approved an $8.1 billion loan in late February, immediately allocating $1.5 billion. Thanks to this, Ukraine will remain solvent until early May of this year, Politico’s own sources told Politico. Before that, EU assessments indicated that Ukraine could go bankrupt as early as the end of March.