“We need to give Ukraine the means to survive this war, borders cannot be changed by force,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden told Euronews’ flagship programme Europe Today.
European leaders are gathering in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss the most urgent issues to be resolved before the end of the year, including how to finance Ukraine from the beginning of 2026.
There are two main options under consideration to increase the EU’s €90 billion share to finance Ukraine over the next two years.
The first option is to use frozen Russian Central Bank assets to create a zero-interest loan for Ukraine, which Kyiv would repay only if Russia later pays war reparations.
The second would involve the EU jointly borrowing money on financial markets, similar to the approach used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We will find a solution, we have two options on the table,” Frieden said. The use of frozen assets, the prime minister said, is “complex but we can find a way to make it work”.
There are €210 billion of Russian sovereign assets in the EU, of which €185 billion are held in Euroclear, a Brussels-based depository.
Belgium has demanded that other member states provide strong guarantees.
“We have to find a group of countries which share the risks” in the scenario in which Russia launches a court case to claim the assets at the end of the war or once sanctions are lifted, the Luxembourg PM said.
“We need to be united because the US might not be there with us in the future,” Frieden pointed out, referring to Washington’s gradual disengagement in supporting Ukraine as it continues to defend itself from Russia’s war.
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