BRUSSELS, December 24. /TASS/. The mood inside the European Commission’s headquarters is far from festive this Christmas season, with a sense of "gloom" and "emptiness" settling in following the failure to reach an agreement on seizing frozen Russian assets, Politico Europe reported.

According to the newspaper, after months of discussions, EU leaders "delivered a harsh reality check, with the executive’s ambitions dashed by political and national red lines." Politico notes that the feeling of "emptiness" in the headquarters became particularly strong after last week’s failed EU summit in Brussels. The meeting ended without an agreement on providing a so-called reparations loan to Kiev, and officials also announced a delay in signing the EU’s free-trade agreement with the South American trade bloc Mercosur, which may now be concluded in January 2026.

The EU summit wrapped up on December 19 after 17 hours of talks that failed to overcome Belgium’s opposition or reach an agreement on seizing Russian assets. Participants confirmed the indefinite freezing of the assets, noting no realistic prospect of their voluntary return in the near future.

EU countries agreed to provide Ukraine with funding totaling 90 billion euros for 2026-2027. The funds will be raised collectively by member states through joint borrowing, while Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have formally opted out. Under the EU’s plan, Ukraine will receive a zero-interest loan, repayable only if it secures "full reparations" from Russia, which Brussels estimates at over half a trillion euros. The European Commission had previously declared Ukraine insolvent and, on that basis, said it could not extend loans, but it was obliged to finance Kiev directly through grants.