The EC presented five legal texts that specify the options discussed so far. Member states will now be able to start working on them, although Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot had already announced on Wednesday that Belgium would appeal for a different way of financing Ukraine than using frozen Russian assets.
The article continues below the video
What is the proposed financial support for Ukraine?
Does the Belgian minister support the idea of using frozen Russian assets?
How many Russian assets are in Euroclear?
What consents must be obtained for EU countries to take out debt?
Brussels has an idea to support Ukraine. There is a new proposal
Russian central bank funds have been tied up since Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022; most of it is held by Euroclear, a clearing house based in Belgium. According to EC estimates, this institution has EUR 180 billion, and another EUR 30 billion is in other financial institutions in the EU.
On Wednesday, the EC proposed using Russian assets to finance the so-called a reparations loan to Ukraine along with the establishment of financial guarantees to respond to the concerns of the Belgians. This proposal will not require the unanimous consent of all states.
The alternative presented by the European Commission on Wednesday is for EU countries to take out the debt. This debt would be secured by the EU budget. The implementation of this solution would require unanimity of 27 capitals.
The EC also proposed a ban on the transfer of frozen Russian assets stored in the EU back to Russia.
