Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has warned that the EU may have to provide Ukraine with bridge financing if EU capitals do not back a frozen assets loan plan soon.
"The longer we delay, the more challenging it will become. This could raise questions about some possible transitional solutions," Dombrovskis said in Sofia on the sidelines of a high-level conference on Bulgaria's upcoming adoption of the euro.
The EU's executive body has proposed combining EU guarantees with cash balances from Russian assets held by the Belgian company Euroclear to back a loan to fill Ukraine's $60 billion budget gap. However, Belgium has so far blocked the plan, citing concerns about the legal and financial risks it could face.
To find a solution, EU capitals have tasked the Commission with drawing up a list of options for supporting Kiev.
"If there are further delays, without a decision on a reparations loan or another feasible option for Ukraine... the question is how do you provide financial support to Ukraine early next year? So that is the question we have to answer in this case," the commissioner said, speaking of an interim solution.
He also dismissed Belgium's concerns that Russia could retaliate by filing a series of lawsuits.
"The European Commission's legal service has assessed very carefully any legal risks or possible legal risks and considers them to be limited, and in any case the guarantees that need to be provided to Belgium are to cover potential financial risks that Belgium may face," Dombrovskis said.
The commissioner added that another option could be to provide grants to Ukraine, but this time it is even "more complicated" for EU countries.