Minister of Finance of Ukraine speaks at the Informal Meeting of the EU Council on Economic and Financial Affairs in Copenhagen

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Serhii Marchenko, delivered a speech at the informal meeting of the EU Council ECOFIN in Copenhagen.

He thanked the European Union and its member states for their unwavering support of Ukraine amid russia’s ongoing armed aggression. The EU remains the largest donor of budgetary support for Ukraine. More than half of external financing in 2025 came from the EU - EUR16.6 billion.

The event was attended by finance and economy ministers of EU member states, representatives of EU institutions, and international financial organizations.

Sergii Marchenko outlined the main security and financial challenges. russia continues to intensify massive attacks across Ukraine, and fighting is ongoing along the entire frontline. This directly affects public finances, as the needs of the defense sector are growing.

The budget was recently revised to increase defense spending by EUR 10 billion.

The Minister of Finance stated that the draft State Budget for 2026 provides for security and defense expenditures of about EUR 60 billion, or 27.2% of GDP. This is an unconditional priority during full-scale war.

At the same time, Ukraine needs international support to finance social and humanitarian expenditures. A significant share of these resources has already been confirmed by international partners. To cover the remainder, additional mechanisms are being considered, including:

• expanding the capacity of the ERA loans instrument;
• the possible launch of a Reparations Loan funded by frozen russian assets;
• continuation of the IMF cooperation program, taking new challenges into account.

In the long term, the Minister of Finance highlighted the European Commission’s proposal to allocate EUR 100 billion for Ukraine under the EU’s seven-year budget for 2028–2034.

Sergii Marchenko reaffirmed that reforms remain a priority. Ukraine has submitted its 2025 report to the European Commission on compliance with the requirements of the first EU negotiation cluster and expects negotiations to begin soon.

It was also emphasized that achieving lasting and just peace requires further strengthening of sanctions policy against russia. Sanctions must close loopholes that allow the aggressor to finance the war and maximally restrict its budget revenues. At the same time, Sergii Marchenko welcomed the European Commission’s decision to introduce the 19th package of sanctions. The decision now has to be approved by the EU Council.