Belgium hints at changes to the EU's Ukraine funding proposal before the summit
Photo: Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Belgium (Getty Images)
The European Union's proposals for financing Ukraine in 2026-2027 are currently undergoing changes, reports Sky News, citing Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on the eve of the EU summit in Brussels.
Speaking in the Belgian parliament, he noted that proposals for financing Ukraine in 2026 and 2027 are still changing, despite the unofficial deadline expected today.
“The reparations loan proposed for Ukraine carries legal, financial and economic risks and offers no watertight guarantee,” De Wever said.
As he has repeatedly insisted before, Belgium demands that all EU member states share the financial risk associated with the proposal.
The Belgian prime minister added that there is no precedent for the proposed use of frozen Russian assets.
Reparation loan for Ukraine
Earlier, EU leaders postponed a decision on the use of frozen Russian assets as collateral for a reparation loan to Ukraine of about €140 billion.
They plan to return to this issue during the summit on December 18-19.
Belgium, where most of these funds are held, opposed the European Commission's initiative, fearing legal and financial risks from Russia and insisting on the distribution of responsibility among all EU countries.
According to the European Commission's plan, Russia's assets will not be confiscated but will be used as collateral, with Ukraine repaying the loan only after Russia has paid reparations.
The final amount of the loan, estimated at €130-140 billion, will be determined after the International Monetary Fund assesses Ukraine's financial needs for 2026-2027.
Yesterday, it was reported that Belgium had asked the EU to consider the possibility of using emergency measures to issue joint EU debt to help Ukraine.
It also became known that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the EU summit on December 18-19, where the reparations loan will be discussed.
