BRUSSELS, December 11. /TASS/. EU countries are quietly discussing options for tapping their own funds to finance Kiev unless the bloc agrees to confiscate frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan for Ukraine, Politico reported.
Only one option was proposed by the European Commission as it put forward its official proposal to use Russian assets for the loan, namely, joint debt backed by the EU’s next budget, the newspaper said. Hungary has made it clear that it opposes the decision that would require a unanimous vote.
Against this backdrop, EU diplomats are quietly discussing a third option for some countries to dig into their own treasuries, with Germany, the Nordic states and the Baltics seen as the most likely participants. However, those floating the idea have warned that the EU risks "a serious split at its core," if some member countries are forced to carry the financial burden of supporting Ukraine alone to the detriment of solidarity, Politico wrote.
Further down the road, Germany may refuse to prop up a failing bank in a country that doesn’t contribute the cash for Kiev, Politico argued. "Solidarity is a two-way street," it quoted a diplomat as saying.
Yet another option would see EU leaders band together and pass the "reparation loan" plan via so-called qualified majority voting, Politico added. This would ignore Belgium’s veto, but diplomats told the publication that the idea is not being actively considered.