EU divided over frozen Russian assets issue — Politico
Photo: EU countries divided into two camps on the issue of Russian assets (wikimedia.org)
EU countries have yet to reach a consensus on financing Ukraine ahead of the summit on December 18-19. Some countries are calling for the use of frozen Russian assets, while others are in favor of joint borrowing by EU countries, according to Politico.
One group of countries, led by Germany and supported by Northern and Eastern Europe, insists on granting Ukraine a reparations loan secured by frozen assets. They believe that there is no alternative to this mechanism.
They are opposed by Belgium, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, Hungary, and Slovakia. They advocate an alternative option of issuing joint EU debt guaranteed by the general budget.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that countries must choose between two paths: using assets or joint borrowing.
A possible compromise is a scheme in which only 25 of the 27 EU countries would participate in the financing, except Hungary and Slovakia, which oppose aid to Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán previously stated that the issue of assets would not be discussed at the summit and that negotiations had moved on to the topic of joint borrowing. However, a senior EU official speaking to Politico denied this, confirming that the option of using Russian reserves remains on the agenda.
Background
The EU still does not have a unified position on a reparations loan for Ukraine. Some leaders support financing from Russian assets, while others advocate a joint debt mechanism.
On December 18-19, an EU leaders' summit will be held in Brussels, where a decision on financial support for Ukraine for 2026-2027 is to be made.
If no agreement is reached, the EU will consider plan B — a temporary loan from the bloc's borrowing to provide support to Ukraine in early 2026.
EU leaders plan to decide in the coming days how to finance Ukraine in 2026 and 2027 to continue fighting Russian aggression. The financing program is expected to be agreed upon and disclosed on Friday.
