EU kicks off crucial week with talks with Zelenskyy and attempt to save €210 billion loan - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
The European Union is facing a critical week as it tries to protect Ukraine from an unfavorable peace deal imposed by the US and Russia, and to save a multi-billion euro loan financing agreement for Ukraine. EU leaders will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and American officials in Berlin to discuss a peace deal, and will also fight for support for the lending plan among European governments.
The European Union faces a critical week as it tries to protect Ukraine from an unfavorable peace deal brokered by the US and Russia, while also trying to salvage a multi-billion dollar loan financing deal for Ukraine, Politico reports, writes UNN.
Details
After a series of sharp attacks from Washington, including US President Donald Trump's interview statement that European leaders are "weak," the coming days will be a true test of their courage, the publication writes.
I think they are weak: Trump sharply criticized Europe and its leaders09.12.25, 14:10 • 4152 views
On Monday, leaders will try to mend ties and use their power of persuasion on a peace deal when they meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and American officials in Berlin. At the same time, in Brussels, EU foreign ministers and diplomats will fight to win over a growing number of European governments that oppose the loan plan.
By Thursday, when all 27 leaders gather in Brussels for a summit that "promises to be one of the most important in recent years," they will hope to gain more clarity on whether intense diplomacy has paid off. With Trump's scathing criticism – European leaders "talk but do nothing" – and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's stark warnings about the Russian threat ringing in their ears, they are taking nothing for granted, the publication notes.
"We are Russia's next target, and we are already in danger," Rutte said last week. "Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers experienced."
Unsurprisingly, European officials are calling the next few days existential. The latest attempt at diplomacy is a meeting of the leaders of Great Britain, Germany, and possibly France, potentially with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, with Zelenskyy in Berlin.
As if to underscore the importance of the meeting, "numerous European heads of state and government, as well as EU and NATO leaders, will join the talks" after the initial discussion, said Stefan Cornelius, spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. French President Emmanuel Macron has not confirmed his presence, but spoke with Zelenskyy by phone on Sunday.
The discussion will be an attempt by Europe to influence a final settlement weeks after a 28-point peace plan, drafted by Witkoff – reportedly with the help of several Kremlin officials – sparked a furious backlash in both Kyiv and European capitals. Since then, they have tried to develop an alternative.
Further European disunity this week would be a "catastrophic signal for Ukraine," one EU official said. Such an outcome would not just be a hammer blow to the war-torn country, the official added: "It would also be fair to say that Europe would then also fail."
Regarding territories
This time, the focus will be on a 20-point amendment to the plan, developed by Ukraine and its European allies and submitted to Washington for consideration last week, the publication writes.
The content remains unclear, and nothing has been decided, but the fate of Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation is particularly complex. Trump has floated the idea of Ukrainian and Russian forces vacating territories and creating a demilitarized "free economic zone" where American business interests could operate. Ukraine rejected this proposal, according to a French official who was granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.
"The US insisted on territorial concessions, despite fierce European objections," the official added, which "created friction with the Trump administration."
European leaders insist that there can be no progress on territory until Ukraine is offered security guarantees.
Regarding NATO
In a sign of movement toward some agreement, Zelenskyy said last weekend that he was ready to "compromise" and not demand Ukraine's NATO membership. Instead, the country should be granted a special collective defense agreement, he told reporters in a WhatsApp conversation, the publication writes.
"Bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States... and security guarantees from our European colleagues for us, as well as from other countries such as Canada and Japan - these security guarantees for us provide an opportunity to prevent another outbreak of Russian aggression," he said.
Further EU meetings
Europe will have additional opportunities to discuss next steps after Monday. EU foreign ministers will continue discussions in Brussels on Tuesday regarding plans for Thursday's summit. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, leaders of Europe's "eastern flank," including the Baltic states and Poland, will meet in Helsinki.
Regarding funding
The EU has been trying for months to persuade Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to agree to a plan to use the monetary value of 185 billion euros of Russian state assets held in the Brussels-based Euroclear depository to finance and arm Ukraine (the rest of the total 210 billion euro financial package will include 25 billion euros of frozen Russian assets held across the bloc).
In a sign that the chances of a deal at Thursday's summit are worsening rather than improving, Italy – the EU's third-largest country – in a letter published on Friday, also signed by Malta and Bulgaria, backed Belgium's demands to seek alternative financing options for Ukraine.
The new Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also rejected the plan on Sunday.
Czech Republic will not guarantee financing for Ukraine - Babiš13.12.25, 18:29 • 15560 views
The more such cases we have, the more likely it is that we will have to look for other solutions
Five countries – even if pro-Kremlin Hungary and Slovakia join them – will not be able to form a blocking minority, but their public criticism undermines the European Commission's hopes of reaching a political agreement this week.
A meeting of EU ambassadors, originally scheduled for Sunday evening, was postponed to Monday, the publication writes.
While last-minute diplomatic efforts have raised concerns among many that the money may not be approved by the end of the year, amid Ukraine's need for these funds, three diplomats insisted that "they are sticking to the plan and that no alternatives are currently being considered."
Belgium is constructively cooperating on the draft measures, actively submitting proposals and amendments to the document, which will be considered at the ambassadors' meeting on Monday, one diplomat and an EU official said.
The decision on Russian assets is "a decision about the future of Europe that will determine whether the EU is still a relevant player," a German official said. "There is no Plan B."