{"id":456010,"date":"2025-12-18T17:43:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/456010\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T17:43:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:43:22","slug":"eu-leaders-gather-to-discuss-a-massive-loan-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/456010\/","title":{"rendered":"EU leaders gather to discuss a massive loan to Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan<\/a> for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for a decision now to keep Ukraine afloat in the new year.<\/p>\n

At a summit in Brussels with exceptionally high stakes for both the EU and Ukraine, the 27-nation bloc\u2019s leaders are set to decide on whether to use tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets<\/a> to underwrite a loan to meet Ukraine\u2019s military and financial needs over the next two years.<\/p>\n

The bulk of the assets \u2014 some 193 billion euros ($227 billion) as of September \u2014 are held in the Brussels-based financial clearing house Euroclear. Russia\u2019s Central Bank sued Euroclear<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me a parachute and we\u2019ll all jump together,\u201d Prime Minister Bart De Wever told members of the Belgian parliament just before the summit began. \u201cIf we have confidence in the parachute that shouldn\u2019t be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belgium raises its concerns as it faces Russian pressure<\/p>\n

Belgium fears that Russia will strike back and would prefer that the bloc borrow the money on international markets. It wants frozen assets held in other European countries to be thrown into the pot as well, and for its partners to guarantee that Euroclear will have the funds it needs should it come under legal attack.<\/p>\n

European officials say Russia is waging a campaign of sabotage<\/a> and disruption across the continent. The Central Bank lawsuit ramped up pressure on Belgium and its European partners ahead of the summit.<\/p>\n

The \u201creparations loan\u201d plan would see the EU give 90 billion euros ($106 billion) to Ukraine. Countries like the U.K., Canada and Norway would make up any shortfall.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s claim to the assets would still stand, but the assets would remain locked away at least until the Kremlin ends its war on Ukraine and pays for the massive damage it\u2019s caused.<\/p>\n

In mapping out the loan plan, the European Commission set up safeguards to protect Belgium, but De Wever remains unconvinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not yet seen a text that could satisfactorily address Belgium\u2019s concerns,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope to see one today.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Wever insisted that Belgium remains \u201ca faithful ally\u201d of Ukraine and wants to continue to help.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy describes it as a moral question<\/p>\n

Soon after arriving in Brussels, Zelenskyy sat down with the Belgian prime minister to make his case for freeing up the frozen funds. The war-ravaged country<\/a> is at risk of bankruptcy and needs new money by spring. <\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine has the right to this money because Russia is destroying us, and to use these assets against these attacks is absolutely just,\u2019’ Zelenskyy told a news conference.<\/p>\n

In an appeal to Belgian citizens who share their leader\u2019s worries about retaliation, Zelenskyy said, \u201cOne can fear certain legal steps in courts from the Russian Federation, but it\u2019s not as scary as when Russia is at your borders.\u2019’<\/p>\n

\u201cSo while Ukraine is defending Europe, you must help Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allies maintain support for Ukraine<\/p>\n

Whatever method they use, the EU leaders have pledged to meet most of Ukraine\u2019s needs in 2026 and 2027. The International Monetary Fund estimates that would amount to 137 billion euros ($160 billion).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to find a solution today,\u201d European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. EU Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa, who is chairing the meeting, has vowed to keep leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days.<\/p>\n

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: \u201cNow we have a simple choice. Either money today or blood tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

EU envoys have worked around the clock in recent weeks to flesh out the details and narrow differences<\/a> among the 27 member countries. If enough countries object, the plan could be blocked. There is no majority support for a plan B of raising the funds on international markets.<\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he hopes Belgium\u2019s concerns can be addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reactions of the Russian president in recent hours show how necessary this is. In my view, this is indeed the only option. We are basically faced with the choice of using European debt or Russian assets for Ukraine, and my opinion is clear: We must use the Russian assets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hungary and Slovakia<\/a> oppose von der Leyen\u2019s plan for a reparations loan. Apart from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Malta are also undecided.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not like a European Union in war,\u201d said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, who sees himself as a peacemaker. He\u2019s also Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s closest ally<\/a> in Europe. \u201cTo give money means war.\u201d <\/p>\n

Orb\u00e1n described the loan plan as \u201ca dead end.\u2019’<\/p>\n

High stakes for the EU<\/p>\n

The outcome of the summit has significant ramifications for Europe\u2019s place in negotiations to end the war<\/a>. The United States wants assurances that the Europeans are intent on supporting Ukraine financially and backing it militarily, even as the peace talks drag on with few results so far.<\/p>\n

The loan plan in particular also poses important challenges to the way the bloc goes about its business. Should a two-thirds majority of EU leaders decide to impose the scheme on Belgium, which has most to lose, the impact on decision-making in Europe would be profound.<\/p>\n

The EU depends on consensus, and finding voting majorities and avoiding vetoes in the future could become infinitely more complex if one of the EU\u2019s founding members is forced to weather an attack on its interests by its very own partners.<\/p>\n

De Wever too must weigh whether the cost of holding out against a majority is worth the hit his government\u2019s credibility would take in Europe.<\/p>\n

Whatever is decided, the process does not end at this summit. Legal experts would have to convert any political deal into a workable agreement, and some national parliaments may have to weigh in before the loan money could start flowing to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press Writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Illia Novikov in Kyiv contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":456011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[109,3881,160591,111,197061,25820,16817,440,8697,25821,57,50,80,17051,273,2856,16815,274,3656,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-456010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-antonio-costa","9":"tag-ap-top-news","10":"tag-bart-de-wever","11":"tag-belgium","12":"tag-belgium-government","13":"tag-donald-tusk","14":"tag-eurocopa-2024","15":"tag-europe","16":"tag-european-union","17":"tag-friedrich-merz","18":"tag-general-news","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-politics","21":"tag-subsidies","22":"tag-ukraine","23":"tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","24":"tag-viktor-orban","25":"tag-vladimir-putin","26":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","27":"tag-world","28":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115741812837907026","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}