US EditionEU Countries Seek Urgent Plan B to Fund Ukraine
The EU considers joint borrowing to finance Ukraine amid challenges in using €140 billion frozen Russian assets, with Belgian objections and US complicating factors cited.
- Earlier this month, the European Union weighed joint borrowing to bolster financial support for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027 after the frozen-asset plan stalled at the October summit.
- The European Commission's plan faltered after failing to secure guarantees for Euroclear, Belgium's main Russian asset holder, with the US actions not referenced in the source.
- Facing a $183 billion gap, officials emphasise joint borrowing would impose interest costs of about $25 billion, with over $210 billion in frozen assets across the EU, creating urgency for new funding options.
- Belgium has pushed back, with Bart De Wever, who vowed to veto without broader risk-sharing amid Euroclear's 183 billion exposure, complicating the scheme.
- Broader risks include a potential shift by holders of more than $12 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves away from dollar and euro assets, experts warn, affecting markets.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Washington wants to use one third of the frozen funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine under its aegis. In Brussels, on the other hand, a loan for Kiev is envisaged.
DEXYPTAGE - The Americans are trying to get hold of Russian assets frozen in Europe, which the EU wants to mobilise to finance its support in Kiev.
US President Donald Trump's proposal to redistribute the frozen Russian assets – largely held at Euroclear in Belgium – as point 14 of his peace plan, is raising new questions in Europe. If it were up to him, part would go to the reconstruction of Ukraine and the rest to a "US-Russian investment fund." Should Europe now shelve its plan to lend the assets to Ukraine, or should it proceed to defend its position?
EU considers joint borrowing to support Ukraine instead of seizing Russian assets
Donald Trump's peace plan, which calls for a portion of the Russian Central Bank's frozen assets in Europe to be returned to Russia and the US, has complicated discussions among the 27 member states.
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