French president: EU loan for Ukraine to prioritize European defence industry

The leaders of the European Union have linked Ukraine’s €90 billion loan to the purchase of weapons from EU member states, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on December 19 following the EU summit.

Speaking to reporters, Macron emphasized the strategic industrial benefits of the arrangement, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“We have taken care to introduce a strict European preference for our defence industry and for the Ukrainian one,” he said.

Summit participants agreed to provide the loan to Ukraine specifically for the procurement of weapons, funded by the EU itself. Notably, Brussels rejected the proposal to finance Ukraine using Russia’s frozen assets, opting instead for a mechanism that channels EU resources directly to Kyiv.

Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia refused to participate in granting Ukraine an interest-free loan worth €90 billion. It is specified that the funds were allocated to Kiev for 2026-2027. This decision was firmly confirmed by 25 representatives of the EU member States.

By Vafa Guliyeva