Overview
- The Commission outlined two routes to fund Ukraine’s 2026–2027 needs: a preferred “reparations loan” leveraging frozen Russian state assets or, alternatively, EU borrowing on markets.
- Under the proposal, the reparations loan could pass by qualified majority, whereas EU budget borrowing would normally require unanimity, a hurdle given past resistance from Hungary.
- Belgium, which hosts Euroclear holding roughly €185–190 billion of the immobilised assets, says its risks are not covered and demands binding guarantees and burden‑sharing from other member states.
- Brussels argues the plan respects sovereign immunity and is structured as a loan with asset immobilisation, a no‑claims clause and member‑state guarantees, though ECB chief Christine Lagarde called it a legal and financial stretch.
- Russia threatened retaliation, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova promising the “harshest reaction” and Dmitry Medvedev warning that using the assets could be treated as a casus belli.