Zelensky Demands Another €70 Billion as EU Budget Tops €200B
Even after Brussels approved a €90 billion loan mechanism for 2026-2027, Kyiv says it needs another €70 billion next year. With European energy costs soaring, the EU is pressing Britain and Canada to help pay.
The European Union is heading into a fierce budget showdown as spending on defense, energy, and Ukraine keeps climbing. Next year's EU budget is set to top €200 billion, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now asking for an extra €70 billion for 2027. With European taxpayers stretched thin, Brussels wants Britain and Canada to pick up more of the tab.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament debated the 2027 budget proposal on Wednesday, just days after an EU summit in Brussels broke up without agreement on how to pay for the bloc's growing commitments.
At the same time, European industry and households are being squeezed by soaring energy costs. According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European gas prices have jumped 140 percent since late February, while diesel prices have doubled, adding roughly €100 billion to the bloc's fossil fuel import bill.
€90 Billion Loan Package No Longer Enough
The biggest headache for EU finance ministers is covering Ukraine's war effort and state budget. Brussels has already approved a €90 billion loan mechanism for 2026 and 2027, but fresh calculations show a massive funding gap remaining.
Zelensky has therefore requested an additional €70 billion for 2027 alone. At the October 15-16 summit, EU leaders pledged continued military and financial backing, including €6.6 billion through the European Peace Facility, but left open where the extra €70 billion will come from.
Brussels Pressures the UK and Canada to Pay More
According to diplomats cited by Politico, Brussels is now leaning on non-EU allies, above all the United Kingdom and Canada, to shoulder a larger share of the cost. The push will top the agenda at the EU-Canada summit on October 29-30 and the EU-UK summit on November 20.
Von der Leyen notes that the EU and its member states already provide around 80 percent of Ukraine's foreign support, totaling more than €231 billion since 2022 when military aid, loan guarantees, and refugee costs inside the EU are counted.
"We urgently need other partner countries to step up their efforts," she said recently.
Sweden and Germany Push Back on €1.76 Trillion Long-Term Budget
Behind the fight over 2027 lies an even bigger battle over the EU's seven-year budget for 2028 to 2034. The European Commission has pitched a €1.76 trillion spending package, and even a trimmed €1.62 trillion compromise is being resisted by net-payer countries including Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Final conciliation talks on the 2027 budget begin on November 3, with a deadline set for November 16.
Kent Ekeroth · Executive Director & Senior Political Analyst
Kent Ekeroth is Executive Director (VD) of Samnytt, a former Member of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag, 2010-2018) on the Committee on Justice, and an economist from Lund University. He writes from Stockholm on European migration policy, judicial reform, and international affairs.
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