European People’s Party (EPP) chairman Manfred Weber is confident the EU will one day use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, even though member state leaders failed to agree on this at a summit in Brussels this week. “We will use this money to compensate for the damage that Russia has caused,” Weber told Politico on Friday, adding that the frozen assets could also be used to repay loans that the EU gave to Ukraine.
EU leaders failed on Thursday night to convince Belgium, where most of the frozen Russian assets are located, to use the funds to finance aid to Ukraine in the war. The leaders instead agreed on a back-up plan that The EU will provide Ukraine with an interest-free loan of EUR 90 billion for the years 2026 and 2027.
The European Commission will borrow this amount at favorable interest rates on the capital markets and subsequently lend this money to Ukraine. He will be responsible for his budget. However, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, which negotiated an exception, will not join the guarantees. When asked if Russian assets should be used to pay off a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine so that member states don’t have to bear the burden, Weber said: “My understanding is that Russia is ultimately going to pay for what it has done in Ukraine.”
Before the summit in Brussels, the United States put pressure on European governments to reject a plan to use Russian assets to finance Ukraine, because Washington wanted to use some of those funds to rebuild the country under US leadership. However, Weber said such a possibility is completely “out of the question”. “The American idea to use 100 billion euros for themselves and 100 billion for Russia has no chance to succeed“, he emphasized.
Weber also defended German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who spearheaded the failed initiative to approve a loan to Ukraine backed by Russian assets. According to him, Merz “showed leadership” and the proposal was “received positively throughout Europe”. “As a result, Russian assets are still on the table,” repeated Weber. The center-right European People’s Party is the strongest political faction in the European Parliament and also has the largest representation at European Council meetings. The EPP also includes the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and several members of her collegium.
