\n<\/p>\n
The European Commission has proposed an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise 90 billion euros ($105bn) to support Ukraine\u2019s war effort against Russia, though critical reservations about the plan from key stakeholder Belgium appear unresolved.<\/p>\n
The announcement by the European Union\u2019s executive body on Wednesday proposed \u201ctwo solutions to address Ukraine\u2019s financing needs\u201d for 2026 and 2027.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The first option is an EU loan to Kyiv sourced from the private market, while the second preferred option is a \u201creparations loan\u201d funded using Russian state assets frozen in the EU in response to Moscow\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201c[These options] reflect the EU\u2019s commitment to supporting Ukraine not only in defending its sovereignty and maintaining state functions, but also as a strategic investment in Europe\u2019s security and in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace,\u201d the Commission said in a press release.<\/p>\n Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that the proposals will ensure Ukraine \u201chas the means\u201d to defend itself, \u201cand take forward peace negotiations from a position of strength\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proposing to cover two-thirds of Ukraine\u2019s financing needs for the next two years. That\u2019s 90 billion euros. The remainder would be for international partners to cover,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are increasing the cost of Russia\u2019s war of aggression. And this should act as a further incentive for Russia to engage at the negotiating table,\u201d von der Leyen added.<\/p>\n The Commission president suggested that the proposal to EU member states had taken into account almost all the concerns raised by Belgium, whose Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear is the main holder of the frozen Russian assets.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen said the new proposal also covers other financial institutions in the EU holding Russian assets, while EU officials said France, Germany, Sweden and Cyprus also hold such assets that will be used to fund the proposed loan.<\/p>\n The Commission also said the scheme does not amount to confiscating the money as it would be in the form of a loan \u2013 although Ukraine would only have to redeem it if Russia pays reparations for the war damage caused.<\/p>\n The EU could proceed with the frozen assets proposal if 15 out of 27 members vote in favour. The Commission said it hoped to clinch a firm commitment from member states at an EU leaders summit on December 18.<\/p>\n The second option \u2013 borrowing on international markets \u2013 would normally require unanimity among EU countries, which could prove a difficult hurdle as Hungary\u2019s Russia-friendly government has opposed previous funding for Ukraine.<\/p>\n Belgium has repeatedly voiced its resistance to the frozen assets plan, suggesting the proposed use of 140 billion euros ($163bn) it holds would imperil a peace deal in the short term while placing it at risk of future crippling legal action by Russia.<\/p>\n One demand from Brussels is that EU countries commit to covering all legal costs arising from any future Russian lawsuits challenging the scheme.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, hours before the proposal\u2019s presentation, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot reiterated these reservations, saying the legal texts \u201cdo not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have repeatedly said that we consider the option of the reparations loan the worst of all, as it is risky; it has never been done before,\u201d Prevot said. \u201cThis explains why we keep on pleading for an alternative, namely the EU borrowing the amounts needed on the markets.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia, meanwhile, has said the EU using its assets would constitute theft. On Monday, Andrei Kostin, the head of Russia\u2019s second-largest bank, VTB, threatened the bloc with 50 years of litigation if the idea comes to fruition.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen, meanwhile, said United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had \u201cpositively received\u201d news of the proposed reparation loan. That reported assurance comes despite complexities shrouding the scheme related to the Trump administration\u2019s 28-point plan to end the war, which proposed using some of the assets in a joint US-Russian investment vehicle.<\/p>\n Earlier on Wednesday, the EU also agreed to phase out Russian gas imports by late 2027, taking a significant stride towards ending the bloc\u2019s decades-long dependency on Russian energy.<\/p>\n The EU announced the \u201chistoric agreement\u201d had been reached between EU government and European Parliament representatives on June proposals set out by the European Commission to end Russian energy shipments.<\/p>\n Under the agreement, member states will halt imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2026. Pipeline gas imports will stop by November 2027.<\/p>\n The body said the move allows it to end its \u201cdependence on an unreliable supplier\u201d, which has \u201crepeatedly destabilised European energy markets, put at risk security of supply with energy blackmail and harmed the European economy\u201d.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen hailed the move, saying that \u201ctoday, we enter the era of Europe\u2019s full energy independence from Russia\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBy depleting Putin\u2019s war chest, we stand in solidarity with Ukraine and set our sights on new energy partnerships and opportunities for the sector,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hungary and Slovakia look likely to mount legal challenges to the measure, with both countries still highly reliant on gas and oil supplies from Moscow and fearful that more costly alternatives will damage their economies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The European Commission has proposed an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise 90 billion euros ($105bn) to support Ukraine\u2019s war effort against Russia, though critical reservations about the plan from key stakeholder Belgium appear unresolved. The announcement by the European Union\u2019s executive body on Wednesday proposed \u201ctwo solutions to address […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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