BRUSSELS: EU leaders struck a deal on Friday to provide Ukraine a loan of €90 billion to plug its looming budget shortfalls — but failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to come up with the funds.
The middle-of-the-night agreement reached at summit talks in Brussels offers Kyiv a desperately needed lifeline as US President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war.
“Today’s decision will provide Ukraine with the necessary means to defend itself and to support the Ukrainian people”, European Council head Antonio Costa, who chaired the summit, said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that the deal “is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience”, adding: “It is important that Russian assets remain immobilised and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years”.
In a post on Telegram, the Kremlin’s top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the failure to “illegitimately use Russian assets to finance Ukraine”, adding that “for the time being, the law and common sense have won a victory”.
After scrambling around for a solution, EU leaders settled on a loan for the next two years backed by the bloc’s common budget.
The number one option on the table had been to tap around €200 billion of Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU to generate a loan for Kyiv.
But that scheme fell by the wayside after Belgium, where the bulk of the assets are held, demanded guarantees on sharing liability — something that proved too much for other countries.
Briefing reporters as the summit wrapped up, Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he believed “rationality has prevailed”.
“This whole business was so risky, so dangerous and raised so many questions — it was like a sinking ship, like the Titanic. The die is cast now — and everyone is relieved”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had pushed hard for the asset plan — but still said the final decision on the loan “sends a clear signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine would only need to pay back the loan once Moscow coughs up for the damages it has wrought.
Using joint debt requires a unanimous decision by the EU’s 27 countries and sceptics Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were given an exemption from the commitment to avoid a blockage. — AFP
