EU will not force Belgium to approve 'reparation loan' for Ukraine - Costa
Kyiv • UNN
European Council President António Costa stated that the EU will not impose a reparation loan for Ukraine at the leaders' summit if Belgium opposes it. This is a departure from his previous position, where he noted that the scheme only required a qualified majority.
The EU will not impose a reparations loan for Ukraine at the EU leaders' summit on Thursday if Belgium opposes it, said European Council President António Costa, UNN reports with reference to Euractiv.
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"We are not going to vote against Belgium," Costa told the country's French-speaking broadcaster RTBF late on Tuesday.
This is a significant retreat by Costa, who only last week indicated that the scheme only required "at least a qualified majority" of countries, the publication notes.
EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday to decide how to financially support Ukraine.
Costa and most countries prefer to create a €210 billion loan from Russian assets immobilized in Europe. Although only a qualified majority of 15 countries representing 65% of the EU population is needed to approve the plan, pushing it through despite Belgium's objections is considered politically destructive.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has repeatedly refused to support the scheme unless legal and financial risks are neutralized, demanding that other EU countries use Kremlin assets located in their own jurisdictions.
Italy, Bulgaria and Malta, along with Belgium, are seeking alternatives to the €210 billion loan to Ukraine
Instead, Costa, like other high-ranking EU politicians, was betting on convincing Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to change course and try to give him the opportunity to abandon his position of resistance.
"First of all, it is very important that the Belgian people understand the efforts made by the Belgian government and the Prime Minister," Costa said. RTBF notes that Costa himself requested the interview.
He said that the EU had listened and fully understood the legal and technical issues raised by Belgium. "We worked very well," he said.
"All these issues have been fully addressed, fully studied, and we have found solutions," Costa added.
He said that Belgium now has guarantees from EU countries, which means that it will not be left alone with the financial and legal consequences if Russia starts hunting for its assets.
"If we need to make these payments, all countries will provide these guarantees to ensure that we pay if necessary," Costa added.
He said that Bart De Wever still has some open questions, and that is why they are still working on it.