In a move to swiftly aid Ukraine, the European Union (EU) is urging its member states to decide on allocating €35 billion from frozen Russian assets.
Politico reports that the exact consensus among the member states, especially Hungary’s stance on extending sanctions against Russia from six months to three years, remains unclear.
The decision hinges partly on whether the U.S. will also contribute funds to Kyiv.
The European Parliament must approve this decision, with a formal approval possibly coming in November.
If approved, the EU’s share in the total loan granted by the G7 could drop from €35 billion to €20 billion. Hungary’s final position is expected to be clarified at next week’s meeting.
Hungarian Finance Minister Mihaly Varga expressed Budapest’s current reservations about extending the asset freeze against Moscow for three years.
He noted that a decision on extending sanctions might not be reached before the U.S. presidential elections.
Earlier, the Financial Times had reported that the union agreed to provide a new loan to Ukraine worth approximately $44.48 billion by year-end, regardless of U.S. participation.
This decision comes amid concerns that Budapest might block the U.S. from providing necessary guarantees for participating in the loan repayment with the frozen Russian assets.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government is delaying the decision until after the U.S. presidential elections, prompting the EU to prepare an alternative to ensure aid reaches Kyiv by the end of the year.
The decision was supposed to be made by a majority of union nations, not unanimously, to bypass Hungary’s veto power.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned last July that Russia would definitely respond to the “theft” of its assets in Europe, and Moscow intends to legally pursue those involved.
Peskov stated that Europe has chosen the worst path by using Russian assets to assist Kyiv.
