The Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) reacted, on Monday 16 September, to the three options submitted to them by the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) with a view to increase the legal certainty of European loans to Ukraine starting in 2025, by pledging them against future profits generated by the Bank of Russia’s assets frozen in the EU (see EUROPE 13460/13).
Of the three options presented, two are favoured by the Member States, which are divided into two groups of equal size. According to the first option, favoured by Germany, the freezing of all Russian public assets would be valid for five years and would be included in the European sanctions regime targeting Russian individuals and entities, which is revised every year.
Supported by the Commission, EU Council lawyers and France in particular, the second option would consist of separating the rules governing the profits generated by the freezing of the assets of the Central Bank of Russia, which would be reviewed every three years, from the European sanctions regime targeting Russian individuals and entities.
Although they have indicated a preference, the vast majority of EU countries, with the exception of Hungary, are open to continuing discussions so that the Commission and the EEAS can submit the proposal quickly. On the contrary, the Hungarian authorities, who will be responsible for taking the proposal forward in the EU Council, claim that it would be better to wait for the results of the US presidential elections before moving forward.
A Donald Trump victory in November could put a stop to US aid to Ukraine. This is why the other Member States and the outgoing Biden administration want to go ahead and implement a decision taken in June by the G7 countries (see EUROPE 13433/23).
According to the Financial Times, the Europeans are ready to go it alone by granting a €40 billion loan to help Ukraine continue the war effort. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)