EU approves nearly €3 billion for Ukraine as Norway joins recovery funding

Ukraine is set to receive nearly €3 billion after the Council of the European Union approved the eighth regular payment under the Ukraine Facility on 24 September. The decision includes nearly €800 million being provided for the first time through the Ukraine Support Loan. The Council also amended Ukraine’s reform and recovery plan to include a voluntary Norwegian contribution of 1 billion kroner, estimated by the Council at about €92 million.

The payment follows Ukraine’s completion of ten further target steps under the plan governing the facility. The Council said Ukraine had met 84 of 95 steps required to date, about 88% of those due so far. Approval is a decision to release funding; the Council’s announcement said the money would reach Ukraine soon, rather than claiming it had already been transferred.

The Ukraine Facility supports state finances, public services, reconstruction and reform while the country continues to resist Russia’s invasion. It began in March 2024 and provides more than €50 billion in grants and loans through 2027. More than €40 billion is earmarked for reforms and investments under the Ukraine Plan, with regular disbursements linked to the country meeting agreed conditions.

The plan connects recovery spending with Ukraine’s path toward membership of the European Union. It includes measures on public administration, governance, the rule of law and the prevention of corruption and fraud. The Council says the facility has audit and control arrangements, including an independent audit board. Its payments are subject to implementation of agreed reforms and investments rather than being unconditional transfers.

Norway’s contribution was announced in Oslo on 17 September by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. The Commission described it then as an additional €90 million, a rounded euro figure; the Council’s subsequent amendment specified 1 billion Norwegian kroner, approximately €92 million. Norway is the first country outside the EU to contribute to the facility’s Pillar I, which finances support through the Ukraine Plan.

The Commission said the Norwegian money would support financial stability and reforms, including work on anti-corruption and energy. Norway had already joined the Ukraine Investment Framework, a different pillar of the facility, as an observer and contributor in 2025. The Commission said it had committed €172 million under that framework to support Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, including efforts to secure gas supplies and storage.

Sweden has made additional voluntary contributions exceeding €253 million in the past year, according to the Council. It also cited a UK contribution of more than €17 million to the investment framework. After the newly approved eighth disbursement is made, Ukraine will have received more than €32 billion under the facility since mid-2024. The current Council decision concerned both the next payment and the incorporation of Norway’s pledge into the Ukraine Plan.