MEPs approve 35 billion euro loan for Ukraine with support from far-right

The proposed loan for Ukraine has divided the far-right group Patriots for Europe (PfE), with some of its members voting for and others against.

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The European Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed an unprecedented move to provide a loan of up to 35 billion euros to Ukraine using the Russian Central Bank’s fixed assets as security for repayments.

The project received 518 votes for, 56 against and 61 abstentions in Strasbourg. Lawmakers agreed not to introduce any amendments to expedite final approval in the Council, where it has already been obtained. the preliminary green light.

“This is another historic moment,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who welcomed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the chamber last week.

“With this vote, we are sending a very strong message that we are using the profits from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, and Russia, as the aggressor, must and will pay for its destruction,” she said. added, to the heckling of an unidentified man. from afar.

Notably, the proposed loan has garnered support from several far-right lawmakers, who tend to oppose providing military and financial assistance to Ukraine. (The 35 billion euros will not be designated, meaning kyiv will spend it as it sees fit, including on arms.)

More than 20 MEPs from the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) party voted in favor of the credit, while almost 40, including its president Jordan Bardella, chose to abstain. Bardella was among the group’s leaders who met with Zelensky last week.

Only seven of the 86 PfE MPs voted against the legal text.

These figures contrast modestly with the resolution supporting Ukraine that the Patriots largely rejected. in July.

However, the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group, the most radical and disruptive force on the right, reaffirmed its hostility and opposed the loan in unison.

The vast majority of the far-right group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), dominated by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Poland’s Law and Justice, supported the initiative, as they did in the passed for other cases linked to Ukraine.

No MPs from the centrist factions, the European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists & Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe, voted against Tuesday’s text.

Orbán’s latest veto

The much-anticipated approval from Parliament paves the way for a rapid deployment of the loan.

Once the Council gives final approval, the European Commission will be authorized to raise funds on the market and begin disbursements to Kyiv in early 2025.

But some pieces of the puzzle are still missing.

The credit of 35 billion euros is intended to be the EU’s share part of a broader G7 initiative to provide Ukraine with a loan of 45 billion euros ($50 billion) in immediate financial aid. Windfall profits from frozen Russian assets will be leveraged to cover progressive payments and interest rates, thereby exempting the coffers of kyiv and the West.

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Under EU law, sanctions against Russia must be renewed every six months, allowing a single country to stop the move, unfreeze the assets and throw the G7 loan into disarray. Fearing a Hungarian veto, Washington demanded a longer renewal period to increase the stability and predictability of the untested project.

Brussels then proposed renewing sanctions on frozen assets every three years (36 months), but Hungary said it would do so. block any changes to the sanctions regime until Americans elect their next president on November 5. (Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he would celebrate Donald Trump’s victory with “several bottles of champagne.”)

Diplomats scoffed at Budapest’s argument as counterproductive because the more the EU contributes to the G7 plan, the higher the risk to the common budget.

According to the Financial Timesthe United States indicated it was ready to invest 18 billion euros ($20 billion), even if Orbán maintained his veto. The concession could reduce the EU’s share from 35 billion euros to 18 billion euros, equally shared by both sides.

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The United Kingdom, Japan and Canada will provide the rest of the money. London announced it would contribute £2.26 billion (€2.7 billion, $3 billion), while Ottawa announced it would contribute C$5 billion (3.3 billion euros, 3.6 billion dollars).

Further details on each ally’s contribution are expected after the G7 finance ministers meet in Washington later this week.

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