Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEU leaders urge action on a proposal to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine reparations, facing legal concerns from Belgium.
BRUSSELS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Leaders from seven EU member states urged the EU on Monday to move ahead quickly with a proposal to use frozen Russian assets to provide financing to Ukraine.
"Supporting Ukraine in their fight for freedom and independence is not only a moral obligation – it is also in our own self-interest," the leaders from Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden said in a letter to EU Council President Antonio Costa and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"We must therefore move ahead quickly on the Commission's proposals to use the cash balances from Russia's immobilized assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine."
Legal concerns by Belgium have delayed a decision on the European Commission's proposal for an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise 90 billion euros ($105 billion) for Ukraine.
"Discussions will continue up until the European Council next week, where the aim is to have a final decision," Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said on Monday.
Pinho declined to give details about a meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever had on Friday to discuss the concerns.
She repeated the Commission's stance that the proposals are in line with international law and address the concerns raised about the use of immobilized assets.
"Whenever we put our legal proposal on the table, we are sure that it is court-proof and it meets the requirements and concerns, including in this case financial markets," she told reporters in Brussels.
"So we are reassuring on that front, because obviously these issues have been looked into."
($1 = 0.8584 euros)
(Reporting by Bart Meijer, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jan Strupczewski, Editing by Inti Landauro and Frances Kerry)
Reparations loans are financial aids provided to a country to compensate for damages or losses incurred, often as a result of conflict or war. In this context, it refers to loans proposed for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets.
Frozen assets are financial resources that have been restricted from being accessed or utilized, often due to legal or regulatory actions. In this case, it refers to Russian assets that are immobilized due to sanctions.
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, and managing the day-to-day operations of the EU.
A moral obligation refers to a duty that arises from ethical or moral considerations, compelling individuals or organizations to act in a certain way, often for the benefit of others.
International law consists of rules and principles that govern the relations and dealings of nations with each other, including treaties, customs, and conventions.
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