French media: EU summit plans to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, Belgium and others continue to oppose
At the EU summit held in Brussels on Thursday, the EU called on the European Commission to explore financing channels for Ukraine over the next two years, including using frozen Russian assets, and left space for discussion of this issue at the EU summit in December. However, countries such as Belgium continued to express reservations.
Due to Western sanctions, these frozen Russian assets are currently inaccessible, with a total value of approximately 210 billion euros, most of which are held in Belgium. The European Commission proposed using these assets to provide Kiev with a loan of 140 billion euros.
Belgium has consistently opposed this approach due to concerns about taking on the risk alone. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever threatened at the start of the summit that he would block the entire process if he did not get satisfactory results.
He emphasized at the end of the discussion: "Having a solid legal basis is not a luxury," and said: "I am just a small Belgium; my only action is to point out the issues and politely seek solutions."
According to an diplomat, several other countries also expressed reservations.
According to Politico, Belgian Prime Minister De Wever continues to oppose using frozen Russian assets, and also refused to support a statement issued by EU leaders that was intended to provide initial political green light for using 14 billion euros of frozen Russian assets as a "compensation loan" for Ukraine.
Belgium's prime minister requested the use of more moderate wording in the conclusions, removing any mention of compensation loans. The final version simply stated that the leaders of the countries committed to addressing Ukraine's "urgent needs" and "invited the European Commission to quickly propose a plan for financial support to Ukraine."
French President Macron acknowledged: "This solution raises legal issues and questions of risk sharing." But he also emphasized that it remains the most promising way to provide economic assistance to Ukraine in the coming years.
Zelenskyy participated in part of the discussions in Brussels, urging leaders to take positive action. According to Politico, although the United States announced new sanctions against Russia, it did not commit to providing any new financial support. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy told reporters during the summit that without new funding injections, Kyiv may face serious financial difficulties next year.
Almost simultaneously with Trump delaying his meeting with Putin in Prague and deciding to sanction two major Russian oil companies, the EU announced a new round of sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday, which is the 19th round since February 2022.
The measures include completely stopping the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Europe by the end of 2026, and taking additional measures against "ghost tankers" used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions. Twelve Chinese companies are also among those sanctioned.
Sources: rfi
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846922477496412/
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