Apart from far-right groups PfE and ESN, all the political families in the European Parliament urged the European Commission on Tuesday 21 October in Strasbourg to present the new macro-financial loan (‘reparations loan’) to Ukraine as quickly as possible, mobilising as much as possible, without confiscating, Bank of Russia assets frozen in the European Union since Russia’s military attack on Ukraine in February 2022 (see other news).
On behalf of the EPP group, Germany’s David McAllister spoke of a “necessary and courageous” initiative that could provide Ukraine with up to €140 billion so that it can defend itself militarily and rebuild its infrastructure. The proposed arrangement would leave Russia’s public assets “technically intact”, he said.
Under the arrangement devised by the Commission, Ukraine would only repay its loan after Russia had paid it reparations at the end of the war (see EUROPE 13720/4). This presupposes an uninterrupted renewal of European sanctions against Russia until that date (a move from unanimity to qualified majority of Member States in the EU Council is envisaged for this renewal) or, in the event of an accident, the ability of the EU and/or its Member States to guarantee Russia’s claim against Euroclear, the Belgium-based clearing house holding the frozen Russian assets.
Thijs Reuten (S&D, Dutch) felt that the proposed arrangement was “legally valid and morally just” because Russia, as the aggressor, must pay for its destruction in Ukraine. For Adam Bielan (ECR, Polish) and Merja Kyllönen (The Left, Finnish), there would be even greater risk for the EU if Ukraine were to run out of financial resources. While the EU is lobbying its G7 partners to replicate the planned loan, Petras Auštrevičius (Renew Europe, Lithuanian) said he was “deeply disappointed” by the Trump administration’s decision not to participate. Virginijus Sinkevičius (Greens/EFA, Lithuanian), for his part, felt that the proposed loan would strengthen the credibility of the EU sanctions regime.
On the other hand, Pierre-Romain Thionnet (PfE, French) warned the EU against an initiative that he described as a risky “gamble”, even a “fantasy”, based on the assumption that Russia would compensate Ukraine without difficulty. “The failure of this gamble would fall on the shoulders of the Union and Europeans”, he feared, preferring “concrete military aid” to “risky loans”. “How much more money do you want to pump into Ukraine?” asked Milan Uhrík (ESN, Slovakian), who urged the Commission to focus on European issues.
On behalf of the EU institution, Valdis Dombrovskis indicated that if the European Council gave its green light on Thursday 23 October, the Commission would be ready to submit a proposal in the “coming weeks”.
According to European Council draft conclusions, the EU27 should call on the Commission to present its proposal “as soon as possible”, while respecting international law and taking into account the necessary “sharing of financial risks”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)