The meeting received wide support from member states, as the European Commission seeks to explore the possibility of providing a ‘compensation loan’ to Ukraine using Russian central bank assets. They consider this option the most viable among the currently proposed options, as it ‘allows Ukraine’s financial needs to be met quickly without imposing significant financial burdens on member states.’ It was confirmed that the Commission continues its communications with member states to address remaining concerns.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had earlier announced that discussions are currently underway regarding three potential funding options for Ukraine: a comprehensive European loan guaranteed by the EU budget, loans and budget allocations from individual EU countries, and a loan guaranteed by frozen Russian assets.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on November 12th that Belgium is aware of the dangers of imposing a ‘compensation loan’ for Ukraine on Belgians using Russian assets and understands that it will face retaliatory measures from Moscow.
It is noteworthy that after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the EU and the Group of Seven froze nearly half of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, approximately 300 billion euros. More than 200 billion euros are held in the EU, most of which are in accounts with Euroclear in Belgium, one of the largest clearing and settlement systems in the world.
