Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Cyprus on Thursday for a European summit, while the release of a European loan of 90 billion euros to kyiv was validated during the day. European heads of state and government must also address the war in the Middle East.

Published on: 04/23/2026 - 04:21 Modified on: 04/23/2026 - 21:13

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European leaders meet for a summit on Thursday, April 23 in the evening in Cyprus, where they welcome Volodymyr Zelensky, who came to welcome the release of a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine, the horizon of which is thus clear.

Initiated on Wednesday, the official validation of the loan was recorded on Thursday afternoon, before the dinner between heads of state and government at the Ayia Napa Marina, a posh site by the sea.

The Ukrainian president arrived early in the afternoon. He said on the social network Facebook that the 90 billion euro loan "will strengthen our army, make Ukraine more resilient and allow us to fulfill our social obligations to Ukrainians."

On the plane to Nicosia, he said he hoped for a first European payment "by the end of May-beginning of June", to strengthen the Ukrainian army and "domestic arms production" and added that "it is important that Ukraine obtains this level of financial certainty, after more than four years of large-scale war".

The presence of Volodymyr Zelensky in Cyprus, the country which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, is "symbolically important now that the money" from the EU will make it possible to support Ukraine against Russia in 2026 and 2027, underlines a relieved European diplomat.

Europeans can breathe

The electoral defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungary will not take long to be felt at European level. After several months of blockage, the Hungarians lifted their veto on this loan. It was the announced resumption of the delivery of Russian oil to Budapest via an oil pipeline crossing Ukraine which resolved the situation.

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The Europeans can therefore breathe easy, while EU officials had castigated the attitude of Viktor Orban during the previous summit in March in Brussels. Exasperated by this paralysis, the Ukrainian president himself made unkind remarks towards the Europeans, going so far as to appear threatening towards the Hungarian government.

Viktor Orban will not be in Cyprus. Beaten by his rival Peter Magyar in the legislative elections, the Prime Minister is preparing to hand over and has avoided his last European summit, after sixteen years in power.

War in the Middle East on the menu

Informal, the meeting of EU leaders on Thursday evening and Friday does not call for major decisions. Relieved about the loan to kyiv, European heads of state and government should mainly focus on the war in the Middle East.

On Friday, they are expecting several leaders of countries in the region for a working lunch. Announced are the President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun, that of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the Syrian Ahmed al-Chareh and the Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein bin Abdallah.

Despite their limited levers, the Europeans are praising an "intensive dialogue" with the states of the region and wish to discuss "the situation in Lebanon and the talks between Israel and Lebanon", according to an official. Meeting in Cyprus takes on a symbolic dimension since NATO bases there had been targeted by Iranian-made drones at the start of the conflict.

With the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, the conflict has serious consequences on the European economy, whose bill for oil and gas supplies has jumped by 24 billion euros in seven weeks. In all European countries, costly measures are increasing in order to support the most exposed sectors such as heavy industry, agriculture and fishing.

Sensitive discussions around the future European budget

And the European Union is watching a potential kerosene shortage like milk on fire. "We are ready to contribute, when the conditions are right, to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. Everything will of course depend on the course of events. We very much hope that the ceasefire will be respected and maintained" between the United States and Iran, said a European official.

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Faced with the crisis thus generated, Brussels unveiled on Wednesday its recommendations to cope, with greater coordination on fossil fuels, a call for sobriety and the electrification of the continent. But the EU has not made any major announcements or taken out the checkbook. And for good reason, the finances of the EU and of the Member States – of France, especially – are not at their best.

On this financial aspect, European countries must also address during the Cyprus summit the always sensitive discussions on the approximately 2,000 billion euros of the future European budget from 2028 to 2034. The negotiations promise to be often difficult between Paris, supporter of more European investments, and Berlin, fiscally prudent.

How can we prevent the repayment of the debt linked to Covid from weighing too heavily on the future budget? Should we tax large companies or not? So many debates which will occupy Europeans for several months. Without trumpeting it, EU officials dream of an agreement on the future budget by the end of the year.

Because they fear paralysis during the long electoral sequence of 2027, with legislative elections expected in a series of member states and a presidential election in France, where the far right threatens to cut this country's contribution to the European budget if it comes to power.

With AFP

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