Ukraine risks losing $290M in EU aid if Zelenskyy misses four-week judicial deadline
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: REUTERS/Marko Djurica)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has four weeks to sign decrees appointing High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) judges to prevent the loss of more than $290M (€250M) in European Union financial assistance, Yevropeyska Pravda reported on Aug. 21.
The requirement constitutes a key benchmark under the EU’s Ukraine Facility program, which Ukraine was originally scheduled to fulfill in the first quarter of 2025. Successful completion of the metric unlocks up to $350 million (€300 million) for the state budget.
Ukraine has completed the core technical phase of the requirement: the open competition to select new HACC judges concluded, and the High Qualification Commission of Judges submitted formal recommendations for the appointment of 17 vetted judges to the president, while procedures for two additional candidates remain underway.
Under statutory legal requirements, the head of state is obligated to sign the formal appointment decrees for the selected candidates.
However, Zelenskyy has left the decrees unsigned for over a month. According to sources cited by Yevropeyska Pravda, the final cutoff date for Ukraine expires around Sept. 17.
If the requirement remains unfulfilled by that date, the earmarked funds could be permanently forfeited. Even in the case of partial compliance, the European Commission retains the authority to reduce the payout proportionally, which would still leave Ukraine facing a loss exceeding $290 million.
Conversely, if all judicial appointments are finalized, Ukraine will remain eligible to receive the full allocation of approximately $350 million. The European Commission also maintains the discretion to waive funding deductions if Kyiv demonstrates concrete steps toward reinforcing the institutional capacity of the HACC.
The Ukraine Facility is a four-year, $58.5 billion (€50 billion) EU support program, with roughly $44.5 billion (€38 billion) allocated as direct state budget support conditioned upon the execution of structural reforms outlined in the Ukraine Plan.
Each policy benchmark carries a fixed execution timeline and a corresponding financial value. If Ukraine misses a deadline, fund disbursement is deferred; once the grace period expires, the financial allocations are permanently canceled.
According to assessments by the RRR4U monitoring consortium, over $8.2 billion (€7 billion) in EU financial assistance is now tied to unfulfilled reform indicators.
In the first quarter of 2026, Ukraine missed four indicators valued at roughly $2.7 billion (€2.3 billion), while the second quarter saw an additional seven unmet benchmarks valued at approximately $3.65 billion (€3.12 billion).
These compliance delays span multiple sectors, ranging from judicial and anti-corruption overhauls to public administration, corporate governance, energy policy, financial sector regulation, and human rights protections.
In 2026, 27 new reform indicators and an additional $9.7 billion (€8.3 billion) in funding were incorporated into the Ukraine Plan. Ukraine is required to complete all mandated structural reforms no later than the third quarter of 2027.
Persistent reform delays risk not only the postponement of scheduled EU funding tranches, but also the irreversible loss of capital already allocated for Ukraine.
According to Yevropeyska Pravda, the delay in appointing HACC judges has become symbolic: while Ukraine finalized the competitive selection process, the funds remain at risk solely due to delays in executing the final procedural step — signing the presidential decrees.
Earlier reports indicated that Ukraine must complete 25 key structural steps and reforms to access more than $11.7 billion (€10 billion) in financial assistance under both the Ukraine Facility mechanism and a separate $105 billion (€90 billion) EU loan package.
The EU Council earlier approved amendments to the Ukraine Plan enabling Kyiv to access more than $9.4 billion (€8 billion) in supplementary Ukraine Facility funding during 2026.
Ukraine Facility formally took effect on March 1, 2024, providing structured funding exceeding $58.5 billion (€50 billion) in grants and concessional loans to support Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction, and modernization through 2027.
Since its inception, the program has disbursed $7 billion (€6 billion) in bridge financing, $2.2 billion (€1.89 billion) in pre-financing, and seven regular tranches totaling roughly $25.3 billion (€21.6 billion).
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