Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, Belgium look for alternatives to a loan to Ukraine at expense of Russian assets – media
Italy, Bulgaria and Malta have joined Belgium’s calls for alternatives to a EUR 210bn loan scheme for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, which threatens to torpedo the EU’s aim of agreeing a so-called "reparations loan" at a crucial EU summit next week, Euractiv ezine said on Tuesday.
"In a joint declaration, seen by Euractiv, the four countries said they supported the European Commission’s recent proposal to indefinitely immobilise Moscow’s sovereign funds held in the EU, but cautioned that the move should not “pre-empt” any potential use of the cash to support Kyiv’s war effort. The Commission pushed to immobilise the reserves indefinitely in order to avoid continuing to rely on Hungary’s Russia-friendly government to renew the measures every six months," the report said.
The countries also invited the Commission and the Council to continue exploring and discussing alternative options in line with EU and international law, with predictable parameters, presenting significantly less risks, to address Ukraine’s financial needs, based on an EU loan facility or bridge solutions, so as to ensure continuity of support before any of the options on the table can effectively enter into force.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has long called for alternatives to the reparations loan, which he has condemned as "fundamentally flawed" and argued poses numerous legal and financial risks. Belgium's Euroclear holds the vast majority of the EUR 210 billion of assets earmarked for the loan.