Von der Leyen proposes joint EU debt as a backup plan for aid to Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the possibility of issuing joint EU debt to support Ukraine. This will happen if the plan to use frozen Russian assets fails due to Belgium's blocking.
The European Commission may resort to issuing joint EU debt to support Ukraine if no progress is made on the plan to use frozen Russian assets. This was stated by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a speech in the European Parliament. This is reported by Politico, writes UNN.
Details
Brussels aims to direct the profits from Russian assets blocked in the EU after Russia's invasion in 2022 to a reparations loan for Ukraine amounting to 140 billion euros. However, Belgium is blocking the initiative due to concerns about legal and financial risks for Euroclear, the company that holds most of these funds.
If a compromise is not reached, von der Leyen proposes an alternative – joint loans from EU countries, which will be repaid by national budgets, or financing Ukraine by individual states. However, these options raise concerns in France and Italy, which have significant national debt.
Using frozen Russian assets is the most effective way to support Ukraine's defense and economy. And the clearest way to make Russia understand that time is not on its side.
The issue of financing Ukraine will be discussed by EU finance ministers in Brussels, as Kyiv faces a shortage of funds as early as spring 2026.