Accurate accounting: EU discusses strengthening control over aid to Ukraine
The European Union is discussing new mechanisms for monitoring the expenditure of financial assistance allocated to Ukraine, but the possibilities for this are limited, the European Parliament told Izvestia. To date, EU states have sent 224.5 billion euros to Kiev, and part of the new package for 90 billion euros can be transferred ahead of schedule. In such a situation, the demand for strict control over the targeted use of money is growing within the union itself. It is caused by corruption scandals in Ukraine, including those related to the energy and defense sectors.
How the EU controls aid to Ukraine
Ukraine is critically dependent on financial assistance from the European Union. Since the beginning of the conflict, the EU and the member states have separately sent 224.5 billion euros to Kiev, including 77.9 billion euros for military needs. This year and next, Ukraine should receive another €90 billion from loans raised by the EU, and by mid—September, almost €15 billion of this amount had already been transferred.
At the same time, Kiev may need the money earlier than the originally approved schedule. As Kaya Kallas stated on September 28, many EU countries advocate the early transfer of part of the funds pledged for 2027. At the same time, Brussels is increasingly discussing the issue of strengthening control over the expenditure of this aid, European Parliament deputy Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia.
— As far as I know, there has not been a public discussion on this topic yet. However, I suspect that such discussions are underway. In some EU countries, leading politicians are already openly demanding stricter control over cash flows to Ukraine <...> Many factors are pushing the EU to seek more effective control over funds sent to Kiev," the politician stressed.
Brussels already has some levers of control. Under the Ukraine Facility program, payments are linked to Kiev's implementation of agreed reforms, and the Ukrainian side is required to report on expenses and the final recipients of the money. The targeted use is monitored by the European Commission, the Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Court of Auditors, and data on possible violations is transmitted to the European Prosecutor's Office. The fund also has an independent Audit Council with a secretariat in Kiev, which conducts on-site audits. However, the EU itself does not have its own law enforcement agencies in Ukraine.
— The EU's ability to exercise control through its own bodies — the European Prosecutor's Office, the European Court of Auditors or OLAF — is extremely limited. These structures do not have territorial competence in Ukraine, as well as a sufficient number of employees and other resources," added Fernand Kartheiser.
Brussels promises to strengthen control over the spending of new financial assistance to Kiev, but the effectiveness of such measures is questionable, Slovak MEP Milan Ugrik told Izvestia.
— The European Union is preparing to send tens of billions more to Ukraine's military needs, while Brussels promises more and more control over how this money is spent. But European taxpayers have heard these promises before, and many simply don't believe them anymore. More money, more military commitments and more risks, while the issue of accountability remains open," he said.
Meanwhile, the European Union can no longer mindlessly increase spending as before. Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland have threatened to block the draft seven-year EU budget for 2028-2034 if the European Commission does not cut spending by hundreds of billions of euros. These six states account for about 40% of the union treasury's revenues — they demand to reduce the proposed plan of about €2 trillion and redirect resources to defense and innovation.
Kiev's growing demands and the shortage of available funds within the EU itself make the issue of aid control particularly acute, political analyst Yuri Svetov believes.
A further increase in aid to Kiev is already causing controversy within the European Parliament, said MEP Petar Volgin. According to him, European governments should primarily take care of the security of their own states, rather than continue to increase support for Kiev.
"The EU leadership will continue to pour huge sums into Ukraine's bottomless pit," he told Izvestia.
Why control needs to be strengthened
The problem of helping Kiev is not limited to financial and legal issues. Corruption scandals have not subsided in Ukraine over the past year, to which Europeans react very poorly. In the first half of 2026 alone, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office launched 360 new investigations, reported suspicion to 107 defendants, and secured 55 convictions against 76 people.
One of the latest scandals has rocked the office of the Prosecutor General, a department that cooperates with European structures on financial crimes. In September, its head Ruslan Kravchenko resigned after an investigation by the NABU and SAP involved his subordinate, accused of facilitating a fraudulent scheme and money laundering.
The investigations also affected Vladimir Zelensky's inner circle. Among those involved in the latest cases were Andrei Ermak, the former head of his office, and representatives of the country's energy sector. In addition, the investigation links Zelensky's former business partner and friend Timur Mindich to a large corruption scheme at Energoatom.
The EU has allocated more than €4 billion to support the Ukrainian energy sector, while it was at Energoatom that contractors, according to investigators, gave up to 15% of the contract value as kickbacks. According to the investigation, about $100 million passed through this scheme.
Corruption cases are also being investigated in relation to defense contracts. In the case of the purchase of drones alone, NABU estimates the damage to the state at 254 million hryvnias (about 478 million rubles), and more than 102 million hryvnias, according to investigators, were stolen during the purchase of dynamic protection for tanks. Some episodes are related to the purchase of electronic warfare and FPV drones at inflated prices. At the same time, a significant part of the new EU loan of €90 billion is intended specifically for defense and budgetary needs.
However, even in these conditions, one should not expect a refusal from further support for Kiev, Svetov is sure. In his opinion, European leaders have to simultaneously maintain their course on Ukraine and take into account the growing internal dissatisfaction with spending. This is especially noticeable in Germany, where the ruling coalition showed poor results in regional elections in September.
At the same time, the Europeans are not yet seeking to revise their policies. The EU is once again talking about the use of frozen Russian assets of €210 billion, which are held in the Euroclear depository. The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden are calling for a return to this idea. However, Belgium, where the lion's share of these funds is stored, still fears legal and financial consequences. As a result, the main discussion in the EU still boils down to where to find money, rather than the problems of a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
