The European Commission plans to include a whopping €100 billion in funding for Ukraine as part of its proposed seven-year budget for 2028–2034, sources familiar with the discussions first revealed Tuesday.
The following day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed the newly proposed €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion) budget for the 2028–2034 period, applauding the allocation of €100 billion specifically for what's been described as Ukraine’s recovery, resilience, and progress toward EU membership.
Shmyhal proclaimed it a "strategic investment in Europe’s future" and directly thanked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for her "visionary leadership and steadfast support."
Von der Leyen, for her part, presented the expansive €2 trillion plan in Brussels, calling it "a budget for a new era that reflects Europe’s ambitions."
However, the ambitious proposal still requires negotiation with EU member states and the European Parliament. Access to the funding would be tied to compliance with the rule of law, theoretically at least.
"We are doubling the Ukraine Facility — to support recovery, resilience, and their path to EU membership," von der Leyen said,
"This is the most ambitious EU budget ever: more strategic, flexible, and transparent. We are investing more in our independence and in our capacity to respond," the statement reads.
There are plenty of roadblocks possible, given new proposal must be approved unanimously by all 27 EU member states and passed by the European Parliament in negotiations which would likely unfold over two years.
Countries like Hungary and Slovakia have been outliers within the bloc, tending to resist such massive funding for Ukraine, and seeking to avoid poking Russia. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban is already blasting it for leaving European farmers behind...
The budget for 2028-2034 must be approved by the end of 2027- and a lot can happen between now and then, particularly regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.
Certainly President Trump has voiced wanting to see peace break out long before then, but these efforts haven't amounted to anything so far.