Overview
- The European Commission is drafting fallback options that include joint EU government borrowing and supplementary bilateral lending in case the reparations‑loan plan stalls.
- EU finance ministers will review the main funding pathways on November 13, with a leaders’ decision aimed for the December 18–19 European Council.
- The preferred reparations‑loan design would replace Euroclear‑held Russian cash with zero‑coupon AAA Commission bonds and send the cash to Kyiv, with Ukraine repaying only if future reparations are received from Russia.
- This approach reduces interest costs for Kyiv but would require member‑state guarantees and legal clearances.
- Ukraine’s estimated 2026–27 financing need is €130–140 billion, while Belgium controls more than €180 billion of the relevant frozen Russian assets.