EU Leaders Agree on €90bn Loan to Ukraine Using Plan B After 16-Hour Negotiations
On 19 December 2025, EU leaders reached an agreement on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine following a 16-hour negotiating marathon, aiming to prevent a funding shortfall for Ukraine by April. This loan serves as Plan B after the abandonment of the reparations loan concept backed by approximately €210 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets primarily held at Euroclear in Belgium. Under the original plan, Russia would remain the legal owner of the assets and Ukraine would repay through Russian reparations after the war, while the EU would reimburse Euroclear.
Plan B instead utilizes unallocated EU budget funds as collateral for a collective loan. This approach allows for non-unanimous participation among member states and avoids the necessity of new common borrowing by the EU. The plan garnered support from Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and increasingly from France's President Emmanuel Macron, securing exemptions for some member states to broaden backing.
Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic endorsed Plan B in exchange for exemptions. Conversely, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever resisted, advocating for universal cash support from all members. Analysts have described the deal as unprecedented and potentially landmark, indicating a new path for EU resources and debt management without full unanimity.
The arrangement also underscores ongoing divisions within the EU and reflects a continued victory for Eurosceptic leaders such as Viktor Orbán, Andrej Babiš, and Robert Fico, who have succeeded in avoiding additional costs related to Ukraine's defense.
