Ukraine and EU discuss three issues tied to future financial aid

The European Commission is not yet ready to put a figure on Ukraine’s financial needs for 2026 and 2027. That assessment remained unfinished after a video conference between Economy and Productivity Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi on 7 September.

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So they discussed the financing needs of Ukraine for 2026 and 2027. That's one. Second, they looked at the implementation of the reforms which are needed in order to unlock the funding under the €90 billion loan programme. And thirdly, they looked at the preparations for Ukraine's 2027 financing strategy.

The discussion covered three issues: Ukraine’s financing needs, reforms required to unlock funding under the EU’s €90 billion loan programme, and preparations for the country’s financing strategy for 2027. Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári said Ukraine had already prepared and approved its financial strategy for 2026, but still needed to prepare one for 2027.

Ujvári said the immediate task was to establish a clear picture of Ukraine’s budgetary and financial situation. Only after that, he said, could the sides consider how to address the gap. More discussions with the Ukrainian side will take place in the coming days and weeks before a concrete figure can be established.

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The two sides also agreed that it is important for other international partners to step up to the plate and put forward assistance, be it in the budgetary field or in the field of defence, on top of what the EU has committed.

The Commission also stressed that other international partners should add support in the budgetary and defence fields. Ujvári pointed to Norway, which he said had recently committed US$9 billion for Ukraine in 2027, as an example for other partners to follow. Dombrovskis was due to meet IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on 8 September to discuss the results of an IMF mission in Ukraine and reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s economic resilience.

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I think what you need to do first is to get a clear picture of what the budgetary or financial situation is. That is step number one. And then as a potential step number two, you can look at ways of addressing it.