European Union leaders have failed to agree on a proposal to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defence, despite an urgent appeal from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The deadlock follows opposition from Belgium, which hosts the majority of Russian central bank funds immobilised in the EU at the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear.
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, leaders agreed only to ask the European Commission to present options for financial support for Ukraine, without directly referencing the frozen assets. Earlier drafts had suggested the possible gradual use of cash balances linked to those assets. The European Council president, António Costa, said the EU was committed to addressing Ukraine's pressing financial needs for the next two years, including military and defence efforts.
The European Commission had hoped to use the assets at Euroclear as the basis for a €140bn (£122bn) loan to Ukraine, to be repaid only once Russia pays compensation for the war. Officials believe this could make Russia pay without confiscating assets or breaching property rights. The Kremlin has dismissed the scheme as theft and threatened legal action against anyone involved.
Belgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, insisted on guarantees that all member states would share the cost if Russia ever demanded repayment. He warned that the consequences could not fall on Belgium alone. EU leaders offered a promise of burden sharing and coordination with the G7, but that was not enough to secure an agreement.
Zelenskyy told leaders that delaying the decision would limit Ukraine's defence and slow down Europe's own progress. He urged them to act now, promising that Ukraine would spend heavily on European weapons. The issue will be revisited at an EU summit in December, but the loan plan is now less likely to be ready early next year as Ukraine had hoped.
