EU ambassadors agreed to extend the freeze on Russia's sovereign assets, removing the main obstacle to providing Ukraine with a "reparations loan" worth EUR 210 billion, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported, citing the Euractiv outlet.
EU leaders are expected to make a final decision on Ukraine financing for 2026-2027 during a summit next Thursday. Talks are still underway on the structure of the funding, with the European Commission pushing the reparations-loan model as the most effective option, Ukrinform said.
The move follows European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's announcement last week of a plan to create a reparations loan backed by frozen Russian assets, along with extensive guarantees to Belgium aimed at lifting its objections.
Von der Leyen said on December 3 that the Commission would offer Belgium wide-ranging guarantees despite warnings from Belgian officials that the plan carries potentially "disastrous" financial risks.
The guarantees include bilateral contributions from EU member states, legal protections against Russian retaliation and a new ban on returning Russian sovereign assets to Moscow, according to Euronews.
The Commission has been working to overcome Belgium’s resistance ahead of the December 18 summit, officials have said.
Most of the frozen Russian assets are held at Euroclear, a Brussels-based central securities depository, prompting Belgium to seek broad guarantees from other EU states to shield itself from potential Russian countermeasures or losses.
Von der Leyen has argued that a reparations loan backed by frozen Russian assets is the most efficient way for Europe to meet Ukraine's financing needs.
“We give a loan to Ukraine—that Ukraine pays back if Russia pays reparations,” she told the European Parliament last month.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, Euronews