The Times: EU to allow Britain to participate in arms purchases for Ukraine under €90 billion loan

The European Union has opened the opportunity for the United Kingdom to join the €90 billion loan program for Ukraine.

This is reported by The Times, citing sources.

The programme is expected to help Kiev buy up to €60 billion worth of weapons over the next year. However, under current EU rules, British companies can only bid for contracts that cannot be fulfilled by EU manufacturers. British ministers want to agree wider access so that their companies can compete on a level playing field.

EU Brexit Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the EU was open to greater British participation in the program as part of a broader "reset" of relations, which he said could be beneficial for both sides.

Britainʼs contribution is likely to be around £390 million (€455 million), but the final amount has not yet been agreed.

EU officials added that they were not opposed to British defense companies participating in tenders for procurement for Ukraine financed by this loan. The terms of the loan stipulate that Britain will pay its “fair share” of interest — about €3 billion per year.

€90 billion loan from the EU

In December 2025, EU leaders approved a decision to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan in 2026-2027. On February 11, the European Parliament supported this decision.

Of this amount, €60 billion was planned to be allocated to strengthening defense and purchasing military equipment, and €30 billion to macro-financial assistance and budget support through the Ukraine Facility program.

But on February 20, Hungary said it would block credit to Ukraine until Kyiv resumes transit of Russian oil to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline. Ukraine says supplies were cut off by Russian attacks, but Hungary and Slovakia say the pipeline is not damaged.

After winning the Hungarian election, opposition leader Peter Magyar said that Hungary would not participate in the loan, but would not block it either. Slovakia also said that it would not block it.

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