Overview

• In an op-ed, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed an interest-free credit of about €140 billion for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian central bank assets and limited to defense spending.
• Merz said the financing should move forward even without EU unanimity and he plans to raise the proposal with fellow leaders next week.
• Germany is open to legally robust options, said adviser Michael Klaus, who noted Berlin is pressing partners ahead of an Oct. 1 informal EU gathering in Copenhagen.
• G7 finance ministers will hold a videoconference on Oct. 1 to examine the reserves plan, with France and Italy ready to discuss it and the United States not objecting, according to Corriere della Sera.
• Reporting outlines a Brussels design using zero-yield eurobonds swapped against liquid reserves held at Euroclear—about €229 billion in Belgium, with roughly €170 billion described as readily usable—while the European Commission says €9 billion in related income has already reached Kyiv and Russia condemns the effort.