Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is pushing the EU to use frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv (JOHN THYS) <\/p>\n
EU leaders gather in Brussels Thursday for a make-or-break summit on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine — with key player Belgium under pressure to drop its opposition.<\/p>\n
The 27-nation bloc is scrambling to strengthen Kyiv’s hand as Russia’s war drags towards the four-year mark and US President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end the fighting.<\/p>\n
Officials have insisted the talks will last as long as it takes to hammer out an agreement, saying both Ukraine’s survival and Europe’s credibility are at stake.<\/p>\n
“If we do not succeed in this, then the European Union’s ability to act will be severely damaged for years,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned this week.<\/p>\n
“We will show the world that we are incapable of standing together and acting at such a crucial moment in our history.”<\/p>\n
The EU estimates Ukraine, whose president Volodymyr Zelensky will join the meeting, needs an extra 135 billion euros ($159 billion) to stay afloat over the next two years — with the cash crunch set to start in April.<\/p>\n
In a bid to plug the yawning gap, the European Commission, the EU’s executive, has put forward a plan to tap some 210 billion euros of Russian central bank assets frozen in the bloc.<\/p>\n
The scheme — which would initially provide Kyiv 90 billion euros over two years — involves an untested financial switcheroo under which the funds are loaned to the EU, which then loans them on to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Kyiv would then only pay back the “reparations loan” once the Kremlin coughs up for all the damage it has wrought.<\/p>\n
– Belgium blocking –<\/p>\n
Belgium, where international deposit organisation Euroclear holds the vast bulk of the funds, has been firmly opposed due to fears it could face crippling financial and legal reprisals from Moscow.<\/p>\n
Russia has already fired a shot across the bows by announcing it was suing Euroclear.<\/p>\n
Belgium’s outspoken prime minister Bart De Wever will be in the spotlight as his EU counterparts — most of whom back the plan — try to cajole him to accept.<\/p>\n
EU officials say they have gone out of their way to allay Belgian worries and that multiple layers of protection — including guarantees from other member states — mean the risks are minimal.<\/p>\n
But so far Flemish nationalist De Wever has only dug in further, insisting that any guarantees must be unlimited and assets frozen in other countries should be used too.<\/p>\n
In theory, other EU countries could override Belgium and ram the initiative through with a weighted majority but that would be a nuclear option that few see as likely for now.<\/p>\n
“These are complex decisions that cannot be forced,” said Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, who could offer key political cover for Belgium.<\/p>\n
– Plan B? –<\/p>\n
The commission has floated a potential fallback plan of the EU raising the money itself to lend Ukraine.<\/p>\n
But officials say that scheme has been shelved as it requires unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 leaders and Hungary has ruled it out.<\/p>\n
De Wever nonetheless looks set to try to revive that idea, and other countries may be open to his arguments.<\/p>\n
“It is on the shelf, not in the bin,” said one EU diplomat, speaking like others on condition of anonymity. “But we are focused now on the reparations loan.”<\/p>\n
Bubbling close to the surface of the EU’s discussion are the US efforts to forge a deal to end the war.<\/p>\n
Ukraine has said Washington was “pressuring” the EU not to use the assets as they view them as a vital bargaining chip in winning over Russia.<\/p>\n
But EU officials deny that and say that, if anything, the push for peace has spurred the efforts to tap the Russian funds.<\/p>\n
Given that Ukraine has only months before the shortfalls bite, diplomats and officials insist leaders will find a way to keep funds flowing — even if this week yields only a loose deal with details to be hammered out later.<\/p>\n
“We need to find a solution,” said a second EU diplomat. “I’d be surprised if they break up on Saturday or Sunday without a decision.”<\/p>\n
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