The EU may try to provide financial support to Ukraine by issuing joint debt rather than by using frozen Russian sovereign assets, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, admitting that her unwavering support for a "reparations loan" may weaken ahead of a meeting of EU leaders on Thursday, UNN reports with reference to Euractiv.
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"I have proposed two different options for this upcoming European Council, one based on assets and the other on EU borrowing," von der Leyen said in her address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "And we will have to decide… which path we want to take."
"But one thing is very, very clear: we must make a decision to finance Ukraine for the next two years in this European conflict," she added.
According to the European Commission, "Ukraine will run out of money in April and will face a total funding gap of €135 billion over 2026 and 2027." Initially, the EU aims to cover two-thirds of the deficit, or €90 billion.
Von der Leyen's comments came just days after Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic backed Belgium's calls for the EU to seek alternatives - including joint debt - for a loan that aims to use €185 billion of Kremlin sovereign funds held at Euroclear, the Brussels-based securities depository.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has repeatedly refused to support the scheme unless legal and financial risks are shared and other EU countries use Kremlin assets held in their own jurisdictions.
De Wever has also repeatedly called on the EU to issue joint debt, backed by the bloc's next long-term budget, to support Ukraine. However, this option would require the approval of all 27 EU countries and "is currently blocked by Hungary, whose pro-Moscow Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has refused to provide any further financial support to Ukraine," the publication writes.
Meanwhile, only a "qualified majority" of EU countries, or 15 of the bloc's 27 member states representing at least 65% of its population, is legally required to approve a "reparations loan."
Despite having the necessary votes, the EU is currently not considering approving the loan without Belgium's support, numerous diplomats and officials say.
Late on Tuesday, European Council President António Costa also said that the EU would not push for the loan at Thursday's summit if Belgium was against it.
"We are not going to vote against Belgium," Costa told the French-speaking broadcaster of Belgian TV channel RTBF.
Von der Leyen's remarks, who initially refused to publicly consider alternatives to the loan after De Wever blocked the scheme at two EU summits in October, also come as Brussels rushes to address most of Belgium's concerns ahead of Thursday's summit.
A meeting of EU envoys in Brussels on Tuesday did not yield significant progress, diplomats say.