EU foreign policy chief: This week will be decisive in terms of funding Ukraine

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that this week in Brussels would be crucial for Ukraine and its war with Russia.

“This is a very important week” for funding Ukraine, Kallas said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, as EU leaders will have to make a decision on the matter at a summit on Thursday and Friday.

It stressed that negotiations between the 27 member states on the frozen Russian assets are ongoing, but they are getting more difficult.

The EU’s 27 member states are considering using frozen Russian assets to finance a compensation loan for Ukraine, but many European countries are hesitant on the subject, led by Belgium, where most of these Russian assets are concentrated in Europe.

“The most feasible option is to provide a loan to finance the reparations, and that’s what we’re working on,” Kallas acknowledged… We’re not there yet, and it is getting more difficult”.

But she echoed a position previously made by European Council President António Costa, saying: “We’ll not leave the meeting until we reach a conclusion, until we have a decision on funding Ukraine”.

Besides using frozen Russian assets, the European Commission has proposed another option of a European loan, but it has been opposed by several member states, notably Germany.

This option is “unacceptable,” Kallas said, adding that the use of frozen Russian assets also costs European taxpayers nothing, and this is critical.

“It sends a clear message: if you do all this damage to another country, you have to pay compensation,” she said.

Kallas reiterated that the decision to use these frozen assets could be taken by a qualified majority of Member States, but that there was no room to do so without Belgium.

“I think it’s important to involve them, whatever our decision is,” she said.

Ahead of the European summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US negotiators will meet in Berlin on Monday, after five hours of talks on Sunday.

Also scheduled for a summit on Monday night is Zelensky with European leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.