European Union Countries Immediately Disburse Loans Of 30 Billion US Dollars To Ukraine

UNSPLASH/Antoine Schibler ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - European Union countries will provide up to 60 percent of the US$50 billion loan promised by the main democracies Group Seven (G7) to Ukraine.

The loan to Ukraine is supported by revenue from frozen Russian assets, the Italian economy minister said.

The G7's plans for Ukraine are based on multi-year loans that use future revenues from about 300 billion US dollars in confiscated Russian state funds, most of which are blocked in the European Union.

Reporting from Reuters, Saturday, June 22, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of European finance ministers in Luxembourg, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said EU countries would contribute between 50 and 60 percent of the loan disbursement. That means, the loan disbursed for Ukraine could reach 30 billion US dollars.

His remarks appear to contradict Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's statement, who at the end of the G7 summit in Italy this month said European countries would not be directly involved in the issuance of a loan of 50 billion US dollars.

"We will start discussing its portion for the US, Canada, Japan and the UK," added Giorgetti.

Russia's central bank reserves and other state assets were frozen under G7 sanctions imposed on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

About 190 billion euros of the assets are kept in Euroclear, a Belgian-based central securities storage agency, making the EU a key player in every plan to leverage these assets. The United States has about 5 billion US dollars.