European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the coming days are crucial for securing funding for Ukraine, with a key EU summit set to decide on using frozen Russian assets.
STRASBOURG: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the coming days are crucial for securing Ukraine’s funding.
She urged EU leaders to make a decision at a crunch summit this week on how to finance Kyiv’s defence.
“There is no more important act of European defence than supporting Ukraine’s defence,” von der Leyen told EU lawmakers on Wednesday.
“The next days will be a crucial step for securing this, it is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine’s fight.”
She stressed the acute urgency of the situation, stating, “We know the urgency. It is acute. We all feel it. We all see it.”
Von der Leyen is pushing a plan to use frozen Russian central bank assets to provide Kyiv with a EUR 90 billion loan over the next two years.
This move faces fierce opposition from Belgium, which hosts most of the funds.
Belgium fears the scheme could open it up to Russian reprisals and is demanding solid guarantees from other EU countries to share any legal and financial liabilities.
Attempts to reassure the Belgian government have so far failed to break the deadlock.
This sets up a potentially marathon round of wrangling at the summit starting on Thursday.
In theory, other EU leaders could override Belgium and force the initiative through with a weighted majority.
However, this is seen as a nuclear option that few consider likely at present.
Von der Leyen’s executive has floated a potential fallback plan for the EU to raise the money itself to lend to Ukraine.
Diplomats have said this scheme appears to be a non-starter, as it requires unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 leaders and Hungary has ruled it out.
“We will have to decide which way we want to take, which route we want to take — but one thing is very, very clear, we have to take the decision to fund Ukraine,” von der Leyen said.
She added that the decision is also about strengthening Ukraine’s ability to secure a just and lasting peace that protects both Ukraine and Europe.
