BERLIN, December 21. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz turned out to be in isolation among Europeans due to his position on the frozen Russian assets, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper said.
According to the news outlet, Merz attempted till the last "to praise advantages of the de facto expropriation of Russian assets, downplaying risks at the same time." However, voices were more and more loud over the last week, from Euroclear depository where the greater portion of blocked Russian assets is held, to the European Central Bank, which cautioned against such step," the newspaper noted.
"Even when the Russian Central Bank filed a complaint against Euroclear and Fitch rating agency issued a warning [about the possible rating downgrade] for Euroclear, Merz continued following his course," the article indicates. "Facts spoke against Merz and [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen, who started, however, distancing from Merz when it became clear that the chancellor is isolated in Europe," Berliner Zeitung said. The chancellor "made a wrong stake" and failed because of that, it added.
EU summit participants failed to agree upon expropriation of frozen Russian assets through the so-called "reparation loan" scheme. The decision was made instead to allocate a 90 bln Euro interest-free loan to Ukraine through collective loans of EU members.