Media reports that Britain announced its readiness to hand over the money during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. With this, London is trying to mediate agreements with the EU and other countries, including Canada, which can allocate up to £100 billion for military assistance to Ukraine.
In addition, the EC is counting on approximately €90 billion of Russian funds, which are stored in the Belgian depository Euroclear and which the country is not yet ready to unblock. According to The Times, despite Brussels' objections, the UK, France, Germany and the EC insist on changing the approach and creating a single mechanism for distributing funds.
Since it is Belgium's position that is blocking the decision, the EC proposed using EU emergency powers that would allow the confiscation of Russian assets without the possibility of a Belgian veto, the article says.
The publication also writes that this decision is considered critically important, because next year Ukraine will face a large budget deficit. Previously, excess profits from frozen assets were already sent to help Kyiv, and the new plan provides for the use of “cash balances” to provide Ukraine with a “reparation loan” in 2026-2027.
An alternative to this has also been proposed – to shift the financial burden onto taxpayers of the EU countries and the UK, who must cover the Ukrainian budget deficit of €137 billion over the next two years. Given rising borrowing costs and widening budget deficits in Europe, this option seems unlikely, The Times notes.
Context
On September 10, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new strategy to support Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. The media explained that the proposal of the so-called “reparation loan” suggests that the country could be provided with financing from frozen Russian assets without their direct confiscation.
In October, Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever immediately named three conditions under which he would agree to support the idea of a “reparation loan.”
On November 7, the European Commission warned EU countries of the risk of annual costs of up to €5.6 billion if they do not agree on the creation of a reparation loan for Ukraine worth €140 billion using frozen Russian assets.
On November 15, Valerie Urbain, director of the Belgian depository Euroclear, which manages the frozen Russian assets, said that she “does not rule out” legal action against the European Union if a decision is made to confiscate them.
On December 3 in Brussels, the European Commission again discussed the proposed “reparation loan” for Ukraine in the amount of €165 billion, financed from frozen Russian state assets. This initiative has already provoked resistance from Belgium, which believes that its position has again been ignored.
