EU Backs Common Debt for Ukraine, Extends Russia Sanctions as France Signals Putin Talks

Overview

• EU leaders chose new common borrowing to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, shelving the plan to tap roughly €210 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who pushed to deploy the assets as a ‘reconstruction loan,’ failed to secure support as opposition coalesced in key capitals.
• Belgium, which holds about €185 billion of the frozen assets, and France, with roughly €19 billion, cited legal exposure and market-confidence risks.
• Hungary and Slovakia opposed using the assets, and Italy declined to share the legal risks, while Commission leaders helped steer consensus toward common debt.
• The EU renewed its Russia sanctions to 31 July 2026, and the Élysée said it is time to speak with President Putin as separate Miami talks with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev ended without disclosed outcomes.