The "reparation loan" proposed by the European Commission to Ukraine - amounting to 165 billion euros, using the monetary value of frozen Russian state assets held in Belgium, citing documents obtained, Politico reports, writes UNN.
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The reparation loan, as stated, is part of a broader financial package worth up to 210 billion euros, designed to support Ukraine's financial stability over the coming years.
The reparation loan of 165 billion euros, as stated, "includes 25 billion euros of immobilized Russian state assets held in private bank accounts across the bloc, as well as 140 billion euros held in Euroclear in Belgium."
The legal proposal, it is noted, will serve as the basis for immediate technical negotiations before EU leaders meet in mid-December to decide on the most sensitive parts of the initiative. Ukraine will only have to repay the loan if Russia ends the war and pays war reparations, which is considered an unlikely scenario.
"Within the reparation loan, 115 billion euros were allocated to finance Ukraine's defense industry, while 50 billion euros will cover Kyiv's budget needs. The remaining 45 billion euros of the package will be used to repay the G7 loan to Ukraine from 2024," the publication states.
The main obstacle remains the opposition of the Belgian government to the loan.
"The text that the European Commission will present today does not satisfactorily address our concerns," Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot told reporters on Wednesday morning on the sidelines of a NATO meeting. "We have an overwhelming feeling that we have not been heard."
Belgium fears Russian retaliation against the state and the financial depository holding the frozen assets, Euroclear. The government demands financial guarantees from EU capitals if Moscow manages to recover the money.
The European Commission has stated its readiness to provide Ukraine with emergency transitional financing to cover its needs in the first months of the year, likely through EU debt, the publication indicates.