Brussels, (Unib Rashid) – The European Union has formally approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine along with its 20th sanctions package against Russia. Both measures had previously been blocked by Hungary. However, EU ambassadors had already given their approval on Wednesday.

Following this, a written procedure was initiated to finalize the decision-making process, with a deadline set for Thursday afternoon for member states to raise objections. No country attempted to block the decision, and both the loan and sanctions package were unanimously approved. This development became possible after recent political changes in Hungary.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had earlier blocked the €90 billion loan, citing the suspension of Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline. The supply has now resumed, clearing the way for approval.

With the required amendments in the multiannual EU budget now in place, the European Commission can raise funds from financial markets and use the budget as a guarantee to disburse the first tranche of the loan to Ukraine before the end of this quarter.

The EU also plans to allocate €45 billion each in 2026 and 2027 for defense and budgetary support. President of the European Council António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision. Von der Leyen stated that the EU will now move forward swiftly on both fronts.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in her statement, “The deadlock is over. The EU has cleared the way for a €90 billion loan for Ukraine and the 20th sanctions package. Russia’s war economy is under increasing pressure, while Ukraine is receiving a major boost. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to defend its territory—this will continue until Vladimir Putin realizes that this war is going nowhere.”