European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented three options for continuing EU financial support for Ukraine to MEPs in Brussels today. The European Council is expected to discuss this issue again in December and adopt a decision, BTA reported.
According to Von der Leyen, one of the options is for the EU to withdraw a loan from the financial markets, the second option is for EU countries to do this on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement, and the third is to use the seized Russian property to provide a loan to the Ukrainian side. According to her, the third option provides that if Russia pays compensation to Ukraine for the war, Kiev will return the loan.
We are working with Belgium and the other EU countries, said Von der Leyen regarding the amount of the seized Russian property. As is known, Belgium is where the bulk of the Russian state funds blocked by the EU are stored. In her opinion, providing funds to Kiev using these funds is the best way for Russia to understand that time is not on its side.
Putin thinks that over time Russia will achieve its goals on the battlefield, but this is a miscalculation, said von der Leyen. We all want an end to the war, but achieving lasting peace depends on Ukraine being strong and independent, she added. The upcoming winter will show the future of the war, because of his failures on the battlefield (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is terrorizing Ukrainians on the eve of winter with strikes on energy infrastructure. We must continue to raise the price for Russia to wage war, the EC President insisted.