Speaking after a European Council meeting, Ursula von der Leyen said member states had agreed to raise €90 billion through EU borrowing on capital markets for 2026 and 2027, but acknowledged that no consensus was reached on deploying immobilized Russian assets themselves.
“My guess is we would not have had the courage or the political momentum to permanently immobilize the Russian assets,” she said.
Von der Leyen said that before last week’s decision, the asset freeze had to be renewed every six months, leaving it vulnerable to a single veto.
“Every six months, there was a threat that just one member state not agreeing to the sanctions anymore. The rollover of the sanctions, the immobilized Russian assets would have been gone,” she said.
“Now they are secured for good and can only be mobilized again with a qualified majority,” von der Leyen added.
Despite that step, leaders did not agree to use the assets themselves to fund Ukraine. Instead, member states endorsed EU borrowing backed by budget headroom, combined with a conditional repayment mechanism.
“Ukraine has only to pay back the loans if Russia pays reparations. If this is not the case, Ukraine does not have to pay back the loans,” von der Leyen said.
She also pointed to continued EU unity despite concerns about fatigue.
“Today, for example, we had the rollover of the sanctions. 19 packages of sanctions rollover, unanimously so,” she said, calling the bloc’s support for Ukraine over the last nearly four years of the war – which began in February 2022 – “impressive.”
Commenting on the European Council’s decision to provide €90 billion to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to EU leaders, calling the move “significant support that truly strengthens our resilience.”
“It is important that Russian assets remain immobilized and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years. Thank you for the result and for unity. Together, we are defending the future of our continent,” he said on US social media company X.
EU Financial Package for Ukraine a Clear Message to Russia; Merz
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that a €90 billion ($105 billion) EU financial package for Ukraine is now in place, calling it a strong political message to Moscow as the bloc continues to debate the future use of frozen Russian assets.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 19: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference in Brussels, Belgium. ( Dursun Aydemir – Anadolu Agency )
“The financial package for Ukraine is in place: Ukraine will receive an interest-free loan of 90 billion Euros as I suggested,” Merz said on US social media company X.
“This sends a clear signal from Europe to Putin: This war will not be worth it. We will keep Russian assets frozen until Russia has compensated Ukraine.”
Merz’s remarks came after EU leaders agreed at the European Council, following weeks of intense negotiations, to finance Ukraine through borrowing on capital markets for 2026 and 2027.
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