The head of EU diplomacy named an alternative to the €90 billion loan for Ukraine
The European Union may return to discussing a “reparations loan” for Ukraine if the allocation of €90 billion continues to be blocked by Hungary.
As reported by RBC-Ukraine, this was stated by the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, at a press conference with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
Also read: Delays in the EU loan threaten Ukraine’s winter preparations, – Zelensky
She reminded that the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which EU leaders agreed upon at the end of last year, was the “Plan B.”
“Plan A” involved the use of frozen assets. Therefore, we should also remember: if Plan B does not work, we will return to Plan A. But we certainly must provide Ukraine with the funding necessary to counter Russian aggression,” Kallas noted.
“Reparations loan”
It is worth recalling that last year, the idea of providing Ukraine with a “reparations loan” of €210 billion backed by frozen Russian assets was actively discussed in the European Union.
However, EU countries were unable to agree on such an initiative. A key reason was Belgium’s position, which demanded serious guarantees for such a decision. A large portion of Russia’s frozen assets is held in the Belgian depository Euroclear.
According to The Guardian, Russian intelligence attempted to intimidate Belgian officials to prevent them from supporting the “reparations loan.”
As a result, at the end of December, EU countries decided to allocate a €90 billion loan for Ukraine. The decision was agreed upon, but the funds have yet to be transferred. Hungary’s veto on the procedural decision necessary for the loan was the obstacle.
