EU considers using its own budget as guarantee for loan to Ukraine - media
The European Commission is discussing the idea of using the future interest earned on Russian assets frozen in Europe to provide Ukraine with a multi-billion dollar loan, with the EU's seven-year EUR 1.2 trillion budget as a guarantee.
According to Ukrinform, Politico reported this after reviewing the document that EU finance ministers will discuss on Wednesday.
It is noted that the implementation of this idea will be a major step forward from the EU's recently agreed plan to use most of the profits from frozen Russian assets in Europe - about EUR 3 billion a year - to purchase weapons for Ukraine.
All EU governments must agree to unanimously change the bloc's seven-year budget, and the European Parliament must give its green light, the newspaper notes.
Some experts fear that the frozen Russian assets could be returned to the Kremlin under a possible post-war settlement, meaning that alternative ways to repay the loan should be immediately available.
There is now a belief in EU political circles that this proposal could be acceptable to Washington.
The interlocutors noted that the US administration is seeking to shift the risks of the loan to Ukraine to the EU, as President Joe Biden does not want to involve Congress in ratifying a potential future loan agreement, fearing that opposition from Republican lawmakers will delay the process after the November presidential election.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the US is ready to provide Ukraine with a USD 50 billion loan to be repaid from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets if the EU extends sanctions against Moscow indefinitely.