EU should approve Ukraine's reparations loan by Christmas – Danish PM
Photo: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Getty Images)
The European Union may decide before Christmas to grant Ukraine a reparations loan from the frozen assets of the Russian regime, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.
According to her, this is primarily a political decision. There are technical details, but they will be resolved in the process.
"Of course, there are some technical questions that have to be answered, there are a lot of details that we have to work on, but first and foremost, this is a political decision and a political choice. I support the idea, totally. And I think we have to work in a way that we have a solution before Christmas Eve. So we are able to ensure that we can finance Ukraine for the next years," Frederiksen explains.
Reparation loan
Ukraine's partners are discussing ways to cover the Ukrainian state budget deficit for next year. One of the possible options is the creation of a so-called reparation loan by EU countries. In fact, this is a mechanism that will allow frozen Russian assets to be used for the benefit of Ukraine.
As of now, the EU has postponed its decision on the use of frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine until December. This is not considered critical, as Ukraine's financing needs for 2025 are covered.
The provision of frozen Russian assets for aid has once again been thwarted by Belgium, which is the largest holder of Russian securities. Officially, Belgium is resisting the seizure of Russian assets because of so-called legal risks — the country allegedly fears that the Russian government will try to sue for its assets.
