“Negotiations on the mechanism of using Russian assets for financial assistance to Ukraine are ongoing within the framework of the European Union summit, and there are cautious estimates that the contours of the agreement will be agreed upon by Friday morning.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: Politico, “European Truth”
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Details: According to Politico’s interlocutors, EU leaders decided at the start of the summit to directly discuss secondary issues, while the “reparation loan” was discussed by their aides.
The EU did not want “the leaders to waste time on dotting the dots, but for them to agree on one important issue that still needs to be resolved,” a senior EU official told the publication on condition of anonymity.
While the leaders’ proxies discussed the “reparation loan” in small groups behind closed doors, technical-level ambassadors were individually tasked with reworking the proposals, the report said.
EU leaders later took an unscheduled break to check on their teams’ progress. By Thursday evening, some EU officials were cautious about progress.
Two senior EU officials told Politico that they are now somewhat more optimistic that the contours of a deal could be worked out Thursday night or at least in the early hours of Friday.
The other three Politico interlocutors separately expressed concerns about Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s tough stance on the “reparation loan” issue.
“The question is whether De Wever made a mistake by taking a hard line against the deal,” to the point that he cannot walk away from it despite making significant concessions, one of them said.
As reported, Belgium continues to resist the decision to confiscate assets. The prime minister said that “he has not yet seen a text that Belgium could agree to.”
However, the diplomats of the European Union states have reached a preliminary agreement on the use of Russian frozen assets to provide Ukraine with a “reparation loan” in 2026-27, but the final decision must be made by the leaders of the EU states at a meeting of the European Council.