European leaders agreed to grant a €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026–2027, and this will come from the EU budget rather than from the “frozen” Russian funds, as they failed to reach an agreement on their use.
The reason they did not agree is that Belgium, which holds 88% of the assets, requested unlimited budget guarantees in case Moscow wins a compensation lawsuit against it.
The President of the European Council, António Costa, stated that: “the Union retains the right to use the immobilised assets to repay this loan,” while the Ukrainian president wrote on X that “it is important that Russian assets remain immobilised and that Ukraine has received a guarantee of financial security for the coming years.”
The “frozen” Russian funds in Europe amount to €210 billion, while Russia’s lawsuit concerns the EU’s use of them, which it considers illegal.
With the loan, Ukraine will cover most of its needs and will repay it when Russia pays it reparations.
German Chancellor Merz and other supporters of the compensation loan plan had argued that financing Ukraine through the EU budget was impossible because it required unanimity. The way was opened, however, when the three nationalist governments of Central Europe (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia) stated that they would approve the use of the EU budget to finance Ukraine, on the condition that they would not have to contribute to the loan guarantees.
Source: Guardian
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