EU countries to provide up to 60% of $67 billion loan for Ukraine, Italy says
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Future revenues from some US$300 billion of impounded Russian sovereign funds are being used to fund the loan.
PHOTO: AFP
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ROME - European Union countries are set to provide up to 60 per cent of the US$50 billion (S$67 billion) loan that the Group of Seven (G-7) major democracies have pledged to raise for Ukraine backed by income from frozen Russian assets, Italy's economy minister said on June 20.
The G-7 plan for Ukraine is based on a multi-year loan using future revenues from some US$300 billion of impounded Russian sovereign funds,
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between European finance ministers in Luxembourg, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said EU states would contribute between "50 per cent and 60 per cent" of the loan disbursement.
His remarks appear to clash with those of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who at the end of the G-7 summit in Italy in June said that European states would not be directly involved for now in the issuance of the US$50 billion loan.
"We will start discussing the share for the US, Canada, Japan and the UK," Mr Giorgetti added.
Russian central bank reserves and other sovereign assets were frozen under G-7 sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Around €190 billion (S$275 billion) of the assets are held in Euroclear, a Belgium-based central securities depository, making the EU a key player in any plan to make use of the assets. The US holds about US$5 billion. REUTERS
