European Union countries should provide up to 60% of the $50 billion loan the Group of Seven major democracies pledged to Ukraine using proceeds from frozen Russian assets, the EU said on Friday. Italian Minister of Economy.
The G7 plan for Ukraine is based on a multi-year loan using future earnings from some $300 billion in seized Russian sovereign wealth funds, most of which is stuck in the European Union.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said EU member states would contribute “50 to 60 percent” of the loan disbursement.
His remarks appear to run counter to those of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who at the end of the G7 summit in Italy this month said European states would not be directly involved for now in the issuance of the $50 billion loan.
“We will start talking from the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom,” added Mr. Giorgetti.
Russian central bank reserves and other sovereign assets have been frozen as part of sanctions imposed by the G7 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Around €190 billion of these assets are held by Euroclear, a central securities depository based in Belgium, making the EU a key player in any plan to use these assets. The United States holds approximately $5 billion.
($1 = 0.9358 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Giuseppe Fonte, Editing by Gavin Jones and Christina Fincher)
