The EU approved the disbursement of almost €3 billion in support for Ukraine, with Norway making a financial contribution. UNN reports this, citing the communiqué of the Council of the EU dated September 24.
Ukraine will soon receive almost €3 billion following the approval by the Council (EU) of the eighth regular tranche under the EU’s Ukraine Facility instrument. Almost €800 million of this amount will be provided for the first time through the Ukraine Support Loan
What the money will be allocated for
As noted, "the payment approved today reflects Ukraine’s successful implementation of ten targeted steps." "Ukraine has fulfilled 84 of the 95 targeted steps required under the Ukraine Plan to date, which amounts to approximately 88% of the steps counted at that time," the statement said.
EU financing under the Ukraine Facility, as stated, "is intended to strengthen macro-financial stability, restore and modernize Ukraine, ensure the functioning of its public administration, and support its reform efforts."
Following this eighth disbursement, Ukraine will, as noted, receive more than €32 billion under the Ukraine Facility since mid-2024.
"Today, the Council (EU) also amended the Ukraine Plan, including Norway’s voluntary financial contribution of NOK 1,000,000,000 (approximately €92 million) in the form of non-repayable support," the EU said.
The Ukraine Facility allows EU Member States, third countries, and international organizations to make voluntary contributions. Sweden has already made additional voluntary contributions totaling more than €253 million over the past year. Norway is the first non-EU country to contribute to the first pillar (Pillar I) of the Ukraine Facility ("Support to Ukraine through the Ukraine Plan"). The United Kingdom recently contributed more than €17 million to the instrument’s second pillar (Pillar II) ("Ukraine Investment Framework").
What preceded this
Before the decision, Bloomberg reported with reference to a source that "on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations in New York." It also reported that EU officials had told Ukraine they needed to see progress on new legislation to combat the shadow economy, increase tax revenues, and align with EU legislation before providing additional funding.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied in comments to journalists during the night of September 24 that his conversation with the president of the European Commission on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York had allegedly been tense.
"I did not have difficult negotiations with Ursula von der Leyen because they had been prepared by a phone conversation I had with her beforehand. We discussed some issues; we have a deficit. She understands this perfectly well. This deficit is not without reason—our army says: we need more interceptors per day (air-defense interceptors—Ed.), we need to destroy more, additional weapons are needed for the F-16s—in other words, all of this is ultimately measured in quantities of weapons and amounts of money. In other words, the war is becoming more expensive. It is important that this information has been conveyed to the Europeans, and Europe accepts this. The second issue is that the money is divided into several layers. There is money from the loan—€90 billion, €45 billion for this year—some of it is unconditional, while some is tied to relevant bills that must be supported by the Ukrainian parliament. I explained that the parliament would provide its support, but it is impossible to expect the parliament to work as it does in an ordinary country during an ordinary peacetime," the President said.
"The meeting was, by the way, absolutely positive. I do not know where such a message came from. I would even say it was a very positive meeting. The teams will work out solutions," Zelenskyy said.
For reference
The Ukraine Facility program entered into force on March 1, 2024, and provides more than €50 billion in grants and loans to support Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction, and modernization through 2027.
Of this total amount, more than €40 billion is allocated to the reforms and investments set out in the Ukraine Plan – Ukraine’s roadmap for recovery and accession to the EU – with disbursements linked to Ukraine achieving the Plan’s objectives.
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