The European Union is considering agreeing on a mechanism to allocate approximately 140 billion euros to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets by April next year, Bloomberg reported, citing sources in European institutions.
The European Commission is expected to try to reach a political agreement between EU member state leaders next week. However, Belgium, which is the main administrator of assets through the Euroclear depository system, continues to express concerns about possible legal consequences. In response, the EU or a separate group of countries is ready to provide Euroclear with guarantees in case of legal claims from Russia.
In case of successful agreement, a legal proposal for a mechanism for transferring funds to Ukraine could be prepared as early as the second quarter of 2025, which begins in April.
European leaders are increasingly inclined to believe that using frozen Russian assets is the only realistic way to ensure stable financing for Ukraine. Other sources of support are drying up, and the United States is refusing to fund military aid. Meanwhile, a number of EU countries are facing domestic political and budgetary difficulties, making it difficult to allocate funds directly.
