EU leaders agreed Thursday night to support Ukraine’s “financial needs” for the next two years, but stopped short of releasing billions of euros in frozen Russian cash to help fund the country’s defense.
The decision to use 140 billion euros (£122 billion) of Russian assets held in Belgian clearinghouses was postponed until December after Belgium raised concerns.
The controversial move will come on top of sanctions the bloc has imposed on Russia. These are the latest sanctions imposed Thursday targeting the Kremlin’s oil revenues.
The Brussels meeting took place ahead of the London summit on Friday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to call on European leaders to increase supplies of long-range missiles to Kiev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Dick Scoop. French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders are also expected to join virtually.
European ministers held talks in Brussels on Thursday over how billions of euros worth of frozen Russian cash could be provided to Ukraine in a so-called “compensation loan”.
Many EU governments had hoped their leaders would back the plan and ask the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to prepare a formal legal proposal in the coming weeks.
But the final text adopted after the marathon talks fell short of the approved plan. Instead, the committee asked the Commission to “suggest financial assistance options based on an assessment of Ukraine’s financial needs.”
“Russia’s assets must remain immobilized until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused by the war,” the declaration added.
The goal now is for EU leaders to reach an agreement in December.
“This is by no means a trivial topic. It is very complex,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after the summit. “It was also very clear that something needed to be clarified.”
European Council President Antonio Costa expressed a positive stance, saying the EU was “committed to meeting Ukraine’s financial needs over the next two years.”
“Russia should remember this: Ukraine will have the financial resources it needs to defend itself,” he told a news conference.
Zelenskyy, who was in Brussels for the summit, welcomed the results as a sign of “political support” for the concept of using Russian assets to keep Kiev in the fight.
There are a number of legal complexities involved in using Russian money.
In particular, Belgium has been reluctant to use frozen assets due to concerns about the consequences if Russia raises a legal objection to Euroclear, the clearinghouse where the funds are located.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the country needed concrete and solid guarantees before backing the plan, noting it was “uncharted territory.”
The Belgian government has argued that Euroclear would be exposed to litigation, which could ultimately lead to a serious financial crisis.
“Could this plan be legal? That’s a very good question. There is no clear answer,” De Wever said.
“One way or another, we’re going to be buried in litigation. That seems certain.”
Russia criticized the EU’s proposal.
“Any seizure plans in Brussels will inevitably lead to a painful response,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The EU’s latest sanctions follow US actions against the Russian oil industry. This is the first time President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Moscow as he grows frustrated with President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the war.
President Trump confirmed on Wednesday evening that his meeting with the Russian president in Budapest has been postponed indefinitely after the US sanctions were announced.
“Every time I spoke to Vladimir, we had a good conversation, but they didn’t go anywhere,” he said.
Targets of U.S. sanctions include Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil. In response, Putin said that America’s unfriendly measures “will have certain consequences, but will not have a significant impact on our economic well-being.”
Oil is one of Russia’s largest exports. Ukraine wants to use long-range missiles to target Russian oil and energy plants.
Zelensky had hoped to secure Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, but Trump last week rejected the request, citing the weapons as “very complex” and requiring a year of intensive training to use.
The European Union’s latest sanctions against Russia targeted three Chinese companies, including two refiners and an energy trader that are “major buyers of Russian crude oil.”
Kalas said the move was aimed at “depriving Russia of the means to finance the war” and specifically sending the message that “Russia cannot outlast us.”
A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman condemned the decision, which he said “severely undermined the overall framework of China-EU economic and trade cooperation.”
