The EU ambassadors agreed on a mechanism for allocating a €35 billion loan to Ukraine to be repaid using income from Russia’s frozen assets.
The ambassadors agreed to begin the procedure for approving the loan in the EU Council, the Hungarian representation of the Council reported on the X social network.
However, for the loan to be finally approved, it must be approved by the European Parliament.
The €35 billion loan is to be part of a G7 credit line that is expected to send €45 billion (or $50 billion) to Ukraine by the end of 2024.
The loans are to be financed using profits from frozen Russian assets.
Initially, it was assumed that the funds would be provided equally by the US and the EU, but later Washington said it would only allocate $15 billion due to concerns that the EU could unfreeze the assets: currently, countries review this issue every six months.
In this regard, EU countries in September supported the idea that the decision to freeze assets would be reviewed by vote every three years.
EU countries blocked the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the amount of about €220 billion in February 2022 after the start of a special operation in Ukraine.
In May 2024, the European Union approved the use of income from the frozen assets.
It is expected that the Russian assets will generate up to €5 billion in profit per year and will be sent to Kiev twice a year.
It is expected that by the end of 2024, Ukraine will thus receive €3 billion, 90% of which will be directed to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.