Weapons for Ukraine: The EU Commission tries again with 45 Billion for the War
The European Commission took preparatory steps today for the disbursement of the first tranche of a 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine, approving the mobilization of 45 billion by the end of 2026. The remainder will follow in 2027. This news, presented by Brussels as an act of historic solidarity, hides a precise and far-from-obvious political choice: of the 45 billion planned for this year, a staggering 28.3 billion, over 60 percent, will be allocated not to reconstruction, the economy, or civilians, but to the Ukrainian defense industry, starting with drones.
“We will deliver the 90-billion loan to Ukraine,” declared Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Today, we are taking the necessary preparatory steps to mobilize this year’s budget and procure military equipment, with a focus on Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone industry.” Invoking the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre, she added: “We remain fully and firmly by the side of the brave Ukrainian people.”
Breakdown of the package
The distribution of funds reveals Brussels’ real priorities more clearly than any public statement. Support for the Ukrainian budget will amount to a maximum of 16.7 billion euros, split equally between the Ukraine Facility and Macro-Financial Assistance, and will be conditional on requirements regarding the rule of law, the fight against corruption, and economic sustainability. The remaining 28.3 billion, however, will go directly toward industrial defense capabilities: drones for now, followed by missiles and ammunition in the coming months.
The Commission has also adopted a decision allowing Ukraine to use exemptions in arms procurement procedures, bypassing normal public procurement rules. This choice is justified by the urgency of the war but effectively accelerates military supplies by skipping ordinary oversight.
An Europe of armaments
There is something significant, and it deserves to be stated clearly, in the fact that the European Union, born as a peace project and long presented as a civilian power alternative to the logic of force, is today continuing to allocate aid to a country at war for the purchase of drones (some of which have even ended up in EU countries), missiles, and ammunition.
This is not about questioning Ukraine’s right to defend itself, nor European support for Kyiv. It is about recognizing that the EU has undergone a profound strategic shift without a public debate commensurate with its scope. The Commission is not financing the reconstruction of schools or hospitals: it is financing a war industry. And it is doing so with money borrowed from the markets, the repayment of which will weigh on the budgets of member states for years to come.
The loan blocked by Budapest
The path toward the first disbursement is not yet clear. The Commission’s proposal must now be scrutinized by the Council of the EU, where Viktor Orbán’s Hungary maintains its block on funds linked to Ukraine. This political standoff remains unresolved and risks further delaying the arrival of funds in Kyiv.
Since the beginning of the war, the EU and its member states have provided a total of 195 billion euros in support to Ukraine, 3.7 billion of which came from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. It is a financial commitment unprecedented in the history of the Union. The question being asked by more and more voices in Europe is whether, alongside weapons, there is still room for a long-term political vision.
Photo European Commission
