EU leaders failed to agree on using Russian assets to finance Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
European Union leaders have not reached an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. Discussions on providing a loan will continue on December 19 at the summit in Brussels.
European Union leaders have not reached an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. Discussions on providing a loan will continue tomorrow at the summit in Brussels. This is reported by UNN with reference to DW and Politico.
Details
At the end of the first day of the summit in Brussels, EU leaders failed to reach an agreement on financing Ukraine with frozen Russian assets.
The issue is absent from the final communiqué, published on the evening of December 18. The document begins with Section II, dedicated to the situation in the Middle East, while Section I, which was planned to address Ukraine's financing for 2026–2027, was omitted.
It is noted that discussions on providing a loan to Ukraine at the summit in Brussels will continue on December 19.
To reach an agreement, either clear legal guarantees of compensation or a consensus among all EU member states are required.
Leaders discussed a complex lending mechanism for Kyiv proposed by the European Commission. It involves using frozen Russian assets for a so-called "reparation loan," as well as providing national guarantees from EU countries. The return of these funds to Russia is possible only if Russia pays reparations to Ukraine after the war ends.
Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic opposed providing a loan to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets, citing possible serious legal consequences and risks to confidence in the EU's financial system.
Recall
On Thursday, December 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Brussels to participate in the EU summit, where decisions on financial support for Ukraine for 2026-2027 are to be made.
EU countries offered additional guarantees to Belgium to support a plan to provide Ukraine with a 210 billion euro loan from frozen Russian assets. Unused loan funds will be the first line of defense if the EU has to compensate Russia for damages.