Technical steps remain for first EUR 9.1 bln of EUR 90 bln loan, drones can be purchased from partners worldwide – European Commission

The European Union is finalizing the technical arrangements to release the first EUR 9.1 billion tranche of its larger EUR 90 billion loan package for Ukraine, with European Commission officials noting that drone procurement under this funding could extend to global partners if necessary.

Balazs Ujvari, the European Commission spokesperson for budget issues, outlined the current framework during a Brussels briefing on Monday.

According to Ujvari, preparations are underway for the initial disbursement now that the core agreements for the cooperation loan have been mutually accepted. While some procedural steps are still being wrapped up on the Ukrainian side, the European Commission is verifying compliance with the macro-financial assistance criteria to ensure the EUR 9.1 billion reaches Ukraine before the end of June.

The spokesperson confirmed the allocation breakdown, stating that EUR 5.9 billion is designated for military requirements, specifically drone procurement, while the remaining EUR 3.2 billion will provide direct budget stabilization.

Regarding defense procurement logistics, Ujvari detailed a tiered sourcing strategy. The primary mandate requires purchasing defense equipment from within the EU, countries holding EU Free Trade Agreements, or directly from Ukraine. If these options are exhausted, exceptions can be made to source from the 12 nations that currently hold formal security partnerships with the EU. Should a specific requirement still remain unfilled, procurement can be expanded to qualified manufacturers globally.

Ujvari added that later this month, the European Commission expects to receive a detailed secondary program schedule from Ukraine specifying the exact defense equipment it intends to acquire.