The team of European Council President António Costa is redrafting the European Council's conclusions in an attempt to persuade Belgium to support a €140 billion loan to Ukraine. This was reported to POLITICO by four EU diplomats, according to UNN.
Details
The publication notes that since the beginning of his mandate, Costa has tried to reach agreements on the Council's conclusions before the leaders' summit, but the loan to Ukraine proved too controversial for this.
While leaders discuss defense over dinner, their sherpas are discussing new wording that addresses the red lines of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
As planned, leaders will discuss climate and competitiveness after dinner, and then reconvene later to talk about Ukraine. Will De Wever finally give in? That's a €140 billion question.
Addendum
As German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote in his column in the Financial Times, European partners are ready to provide Ukraine with an interest-free loan of almost 140 billion euros. The loan will only be repaid after Russia compensates for the damage caused to Ukraine as a result of the war.