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EU’s Frozen Assets Deal for Ukraine Stalled by Belgium, New Vote Set for December

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Cyril Barabaltchouk
News Writer
EU’s Frozen Assets Deal for Ukraine Stalled by Belgium, New Vote Set for December
EU Council general secretary Therese Blanchet talks with EU officials prior the start of an EU Summit, in the Europa building the EU Council headquarter in Brussels, Belgium. (Source: Getty Images)

European Union leaders have postponed a final decision on whether to use profits from frozen Russian central bank assets to finance aid for Ukraine. The issue will now be revisited in December after Belgium raised concerns about potential financial liability tied to the $163 billion loan plan, Bloomberg reported on October 23.

According to officials familiar with the discussions, EU leaders tasked the European Commission with preparing concrete options for review at the next summit. The bloc aims to reach an agreement by the end of the year, Bloomberg wrote.

Belgium, home to the clearinghouse Euroclear where most of the frozen Russian assets are held, has been pressing for stronger guarantees that it would not bear the legal or financial risks associated with the initiative.

Previously, it was reported that the European Union was preparing to instruct the European Commission to draft a legal proposal for a large loan to Ukraine backed by profits from Russian state assets immobilized in the bloc, after Belgium indicated it would not stand in the way of the scheme.

Earlier, Ukraine had received a $4.6 billion macro-financial aid tranche, secured from frozen Russian assets, from the EU as part of the ERA Loans mechanism, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced.

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