Kachka expects to agree on positions with partners on reparations loan by Dec 19
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka expects to agree on positions with partners on the reparations loan by December 19.
"The European Commission presented this idea in October... Active work is currently underway between the European Commission, the Belgian government, and other governments to determine the modalities of the reparation loan so that it can be launched," Kachka told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to him, there are two possible scenarios: first, by December 19 [the European Council summit], the parties will have reached a point where a clear option will be agreed upon and approved; second, by December 19, the parties will have formulated several scenarios, but it is too early to discuss them.
"The goal is to avoid getting stuck in hypothetical scenarios that will then be presented to politicians for a choice on December 19. The goal is to agree on everything here and now so that by December 19 there's a clear decision that can be made," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
At the same time, Kachka is confident that, no matter what happens, there will be no "hole" in the 2026/27 budget, because partners agree that financial support for Ukraine will be provided.
The EU is reportedly considering using approximately EUR 170 billion in frozen Russian assets currently held at the Euroclear financial depository in Brussels. EUR 140 billion of these funds were expected to be used for a reparations loan to Ukraine.
On October 28, the European Commission stated that it was working to fulfill the European Council's request to answer outstanding questions regarding the use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, with a view to making a decision in December.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko says the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may introduce a new program that is not directly dependent on the provision of a reparations loan.
