EU leaders have pledged a €90bn loan for Ukraine to meet urgent financial needs, but failed to agree on the preferred option for many of securing that loan against Russia’s frozen assets in the bloc. Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, said the reparations loan had not been a good idea. The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said it was “quite something” to get 27 countries to agree on a €90bn loan for another. She said the most important decision had already been taken a few days earlier when the EU decided to freeze the Russian assets indefinitely. But if a reparation loan had been agreed, UK was set to put its £20bn or so of frozen Russian assets into the pot.

Source: The Guardian December 19, 2025 15:04 UTC