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Politics

EU Bureaucracy Seen Blocking 1.5 Billion-Euro Loan to Ukraine

  • Caution prevailing over Ukraine’s urgent needs, officials say
  • Financial reliability the issue as Ukraine faces rising costs
European Union flags fly outside the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission, in Brussels, Belgium.

European Union flags fly outside the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission, in Brussels, Belgium.

Photographer: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg

The executive arm of the European Union is blocking a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.5 billion) loan for Ukraine as caution prevails over the country’s urgent needs, according to officials.

The impasse amounts to a Catch-22 for Ukraine. The country is pushing for help to keep its economy afloat as it counters the Russian invasion, but has seen the proposed loan blocked by the European Commission’s budget unit because of concerns over its financial reliability, said the officials who declined to be named on a confidential issue.