EU leaders are preparing to seek a deal on a roughly €45 billion support package for Ukraine by the end of this year.

Axar.az reports, citing Politico, that the potential loan, which would be guaranteed by the current EU budget, has emerged in recent weeks as the most likely scenario for Europe to meet Ukraine’s financial needs in 2027. The EU has also been trying to garner more contributions from other allies such as Canada and the United Kingdom, while Belgium continues to oppose the use of immobilized Russian assets to help Ukraine.

But the push for the support package — which would amount to about two-thirds of the €70 billion requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — coincides with difficult talks about the EU’s next long-term budget. And it will likely aggravate tensions between countries that provide the bulk of support for Ukraine and those that contribute comparatively little.

Countries that previously opted out of the EU’s last major loan for Ukraine — a €90 billion package agreed last December — are signaling they plan to do so again. The leaders of Czechia and Slovakia indicated at this month’s European Council that they wouldn’t take part in the loan, and Hungary is also likely to opt out, two of the diplomats said. The diplomats were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive plans.