Funding Ukraine’s reconstruction: making use of Russian frozen belongings

Parliament discusses a “reparations loan” to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction and defence with Commission and Council representatives.

The EU is working on an ambitious initiative to unlock €185 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets. Announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month during her State of the Union speech as a “reparations loan”, the assets themselves would not be touched and Ukraine would only reimburse the loan once Russia pays reparations. EU leaders will be discussing this plan at their summit on 23-24 October.

Background

After Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine, the international community prohibited all transactions involving assets and reserves from the Central Bank of Russia. As a result, €260 billion of these assets worldwide are currently “immobilised”, with more than two thirds (about €210 billion) in the EU. Depending on the interest rates, revenues from these immobilised assets can total up to €3 billion annually.