Media: EU moves closer to agreement on "reparations loan" for Ukraine

Belgium has agreed not to block the EU's idea for a "reparations loan" to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, meaning the European Union can now move on to practical steps for its implementation.

According to Politico sources, EU leaders now plan to ask the European Commission to draft a proposal that will serve as the basis for a future decision.

Politico also obtained a draft of the final communiqué for a meeting of the European Council on 24 October.

The document was reportedly informally agreed upon by EU ambassadors ahead of the meeting. It contains a call for the European Commission to submit a proposal on the reparations loan that will be underpinned by appropriate European solidarity and risk-sharing.

An unnamed Belgian diplomat told the publication that this essentially constitutes a political green light for the European Commission.

Sources said the Commission is confident it can craft a legally robust plan for the idea of a reparations loan.

They believe it is highly unlikely that if Russia refuses to pay reparations in the future, a court would rule that the EU must return money used in the loan mechanism.

Another European diplomat said they are not worried that Belgium might block the decision.

The financial repository Euroclear Bank, where the frozen Russian assets are located, is based in Belgium. Because of this, the Belgian authorities are particularly concerned about the potential legal consequences of any decision by the EU to deploy Russian assets.

The publication notes that even without Belgium's final approval on Thursday, the European Commission will still be able to begin preparing a draft document to implement the decision.

Earlier reports by Politico revealed that the European Commission is considering using not only €140 billion of Russia's frozen assets at Euroclear but also an additional €25 billion from Russians' private accounts in various countries for the reparations loan to Ukraine.

The European Commission's defence roadmap states that the reparations loan using Russian assets should be agreed by end-2025.

According to media reports, the United States Department of State did not support the EU's plan for the reparations loan to Ukraine.