BRUSSELS, October 28. /TASS/. Ukraine's commitment to hand over to EU countries the right to restore its defense industry after the end of the conflict is the main condition for Kiev to receive the 35 billion euro loan to be repaid using expropriated income from Russian assets, according to the EU Council resolution on the procedure for lending to Ukraine.
It confirms that Ukraine will only get these loans if it meets all the European Commission's conditions, as set out in its memorandum of understanding (MoU).
"The policy conditions in the MoU shall be consistent with the qualitative and quantitative steps contained in the Annex to Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/1447 and any amendments therewithin. The policy conditions in the MoU shall additionally include a commitment to promote cooperation with the Union on the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine’s defense industry, in line with the objectives of Union programs aimed at promoting the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of the Ukraine Defense Technological and Industrial Base and other relevant Union programs," the document says.
This is currently the only specific stipulation outlined in the EU Council's directive, although the EC may add further conditions in the final memorandum.
Effectively, this agreement would grant control over the Ukrainian defense industry to the European Union after the end of the conflict, aiming to secure guarantees that this industry will not fall under the control of other Western players, primarily the United States.
Earlier, the EU Council stated that the memorandum would require Ukraine to carry out democratic reforms, guarantee the rule of law in the country, and protect human rights, including minority rights.
Last week, the European Union adopted a package of regulations approving the allocation of 35 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, part of a broader loan package from the G7 for a total of 45 billion euros. The loans will be repaid using revenues earned from the reinvestment of Russian assets the European Commission illegally seized on the territory of the EU countries.
The term of repayment for these loans is 45 years. By doing this, Brussels is telling the G7 countries, primarily the United States, that it will not unfreeze Russian assets for at least another 45 years. According to the EC, the amount of assets seized in the EU is about 220 billion euros.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed earlier that "the collective West is no stranger to robbing entire countries and continents." However, according to her, "all the fuss around illegally appropriated Russian funds will lead only to a complete loss of what global trust remains in the EU as a trade, economic and investment partner and further indebt future generations of Ukrainian residents."