EU foreign ministers placed the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East at the top of Monday’s agenda, alongside a discussion on how the bloc should respond to a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
The United States and Russia have signaled that Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin intend to hold a summit in Budapest “in the coming weeks”.
Ministers will review further actions the EU could take against Russia and debate options to boost support for Kyiv. One recurring idea is to leverage frozen Russian assets as a loan facility for Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has signaled support for such a proposal.
Kaja Kallas: “We have proposed a reparation loan to Ukraine and we have made good progress on it too, but we have not reached the end goal yet. We are hoping that by the end of the week, when heads of state and governments will also meet, we will have more concrete solutions on the table.” Kallas added: “The reparation loan can send a very powerful message to Moscow that it can’t outlast us.”
Belgium, which is erring on the side of caution when it comes to proposing such a loan, is demanding guarantees from its EU counterparts that they will share any potential liabilities. Equally, in a statement to the press, Luxembourgish Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel emphasised that the legal repercussion of such a measure cannot be ignored:
Xavier Bettel: “We just have to be sure that if a court later rules that this decision is not correct, one country alone will not have to pay. I am in complete agreement that there should be solidarity between the 27 countries. That means we decide together, and then we pay together.”
According to Xavier Bettel’s French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, the European Commission has tabled a proposal that would take many concerns into account:
Jean-Noël Barrot: “The European Commission has put forward a proposal that takes into account a number of parameters that were particularly important to Member States. And I would say that if Vladimir Putin is now interested in a ceasefire, it is because time is working against him.”
Alongside the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict was also on the agenda. Discussions will focus on further measures to maintain the ceasefire. As reported in the international press, possible sanctions against Israel due to the recently brokered agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas last week are, however, less likely.
Since the Council is taking place in Luxembourg City, there was a protest by the Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East in Kirchberg, with around 50 people demonstrating against the Luxembourg’s Financial Sector Supervisory Commission’s (CSSF) decision to authorise Israeli government bonds in the EU.
