On December 18, the leaders of the European Union (EU) decided to mobilize common loans in the financial market to finance Ukraine, instead of directly using frozen Russian assets.
The decision came after hours of discussion and reflected a significant change in the bloc's approach to supporting Kiev.
EU Summit President Antonio Costa said the member countries have approved a €90 billion aid package for Ukraine in the 2026-2027 period. The money will come from borrowing in the capital market, guaranteed by the EU budget.
According to the conference's concluding documents, this decision does not create financial obligations for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which do not wish to participate in loan guarantees.
At the same time, the EU and the European Parliament continue to work on the possibility of another loan to Ukraine based on frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank.
According to EU diplomats, the option of directly using Russian assets faces many technical and political difficulties, which the bloc cannot solve at the present stage. One of the biggest obstacles is securing Belgium, which holds about 185 billion euros out of a total of 210 billion euros in Russian assets in Europe, in the face of legal and financial risks if Russia retaliates.
Hungary is considered an advantage when Prime Minister Viktor Orban agreed not to obstruct the joint loan option, on the condition that Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic do not have to participate in debt guarantees. This means that the EU will temporarily not implement the compensation loan based on Russian assets as some countries have promoted.
At the conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the EU to use all frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, saying it was a decision with a clear moral basis. Meanwhile, Belgian officials continue to express concern about lawsuits and liquidity risks, in the context of the Russian Central Bank filing a lawsuit against Euroclear in Moscow, demanding compensation of 230 billion USD.
