German Chancellor Friedrich Merz intends to comply with Belgium's demands and make Russian central bank assets held in Germany available to support Ukraine, diplomatic sources told dpa.
European Union leaders are gathered in Brussels aiming to find a solution to cover Ukraine's economic and military needs for the coming years, reported dpa.
The European Commission has proposed providing Ukraine with up to €210 billion in immobilized Russian assets in the EU as a reparations loan, of which €90 billion is meant cover financial and military needs in 2026 and 2027.
Germany had long argued in Brussels that first the roughly €185 billion in Russian central bank funds managed by the Belgian company Euroclear should be used for loan.
One reason for Berlin's hesitation given was that only a small three-figure million-euro sum was held in Germany. The exact amount is however kept secret by the German government.
The Belgian government has been demanding that all EU countries holding frozen Russian assets have to participate in the funding scheme to mitigate the risk of Belgium becoming the sole target of potential retaliatory measures.
Brussels fears in particular that Moscow could retaliate against private European individuals and companies, for example through expropriations in Russia, and has been calling for safeguards.
Next to Belgium, Russian assets are held in Germany, France, Sweden, Cyprus and Luxembourg, although the majority of the usable funds are tied up in France, according to the commission.
- Merz
- Russia
- Russian assets
- Ukraine
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
