Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

EU Considers Revisiting Plan to Use Frozen Russian


(MENAFN) EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has suggested bringing back the previously rejected proposal to utilize frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, following Hungary’s veto of a €90 billion ($106 billion) loan for Kiev on Monday.

Reports indicate that Western allies of Ukraine froze $300 billion in Russian central bank assets after the 2022 escalation of the conflict, with most held at the Belgian-based Euroclear depository.

In December, EU member states could not reach agreement on using these funds as collateral for a “reparations loan” for Ukraine due to objections from Belgium and others. Instead, the bloc opted to finance Kiev through shared debt, approving a €90 billion loan backed by the EU budget.

The plan was blocked by Hungary on Monday, citing Ukraine’s alleged deliberate disruption of oil supplies to the country.

“If [the loan] doesn’t work, we can always go back to using the frozen assets,” Kallas told journalists on Monday, calling it the EU’s original “plan A.”

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