The EU will one day use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, even though leaders failed to agree to do so at a summit this week, the head of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, told POLITICO in an interview on Friday.
“We will use the money for the repayments of the disaster that Russia has created,” Weber said, adding that the money could also be used to repay the EU’s loans to Ukraine.
On Thursday night, EU leaders were unable to convince Belgium, which holds most of the frozen Russian assets, to use them to send funds to Ukraine to help the war effort. Instead, leaders agreed on an emergency backup plan based on EU joint debt, with Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic not taking part.
Asked whether the Russian assets should be used to repay the €90 billion loan for Ukraine agreed by leaders so capitals don’t have to foot the bill, Weber said: “That’s my understanding, that finally, at the end, Russia has to pay for what they did in Ukraine.”
In the run-up to the leaders’ summit, the U.S. had pushed European governments to reject the plan to use the Russian assets to fund Ukraine because Washington wanted to use part of those assets to fund U.S.-led reconstruction efforts.
Weber said that option is completely “off the table.”
“The idea from the Americans to use €100 billion for them and use €100 billion for Russia will not fly,” he said.
Weber also defended German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who spearheaded the failed push to approve the Russian assets-backed loan to Ukraine, arguing he “showed leadership” and that the idea was “well appreciated all over Europe.”
“The outcome is that the Russian assets are still on the table,” Weber repeated.
The center-right European People’s Party is the largest EU political family with the largest number of lawmakers in the European Parliament and seats at the European Council table. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and many of her commissioners also hail from the EPP.
No comments yet.