The Financial Times reported the resumption of the Commission's work, saying it was prompted by Ukraine's growing defense spending and discussions over the EU's 2028–2034 common budget.
In late August, four EU countries — Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland — sent a letter to the European Commission calling for it to resume work on options for using Russian assets for Ukraine's benefit. The letter, addressed to the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, said Ukraine needs greater financial support in both the short and long term, and that using the frozen assets would allow Russia to "pay for the destruction without delay" and reduce the burden on European taxpayers.
One option under discussion is a proposal by former German defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and French MEP Nathalie Loiseau. They propose creating a separate EU structure to which Russian money held at Euroclear could be transferred. Some European officials believe such an approach would give Belgium guarantees against legal risks.
According to Politico, Germany now leads the group of states insisting on finding a solution for the Russian money. Berlin, in particular, proposes approving a new loan for Ukraine backed by Russian assets.
Belgium had previously blocked any such initiative. In December 2025 the country refused to allow the creation of a "reparations loan" for Ukraine backed by Russian assets. Belgian officials insist that any proposal must provide a complete and legally flawless solution covering both the assets and the obligations of Euroclear and the Belgian state. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, in August Belgium's foreign minister said Brussels had "no fundamental objections" to using the funds if the other EU members shared the legal and financial risks — but so far no such willingness has been shown.
In total, after the start of the invasion, EU countries froze about €210 billion in Russian central bank reserves. Roughly €185 billion of that is held at the Belgian depository Euroclear.
The European Commission is not yet proposing specific technical solutions. It stresses that any idea will require the political support of all 27 EU countries and, above all, of Belgium. An EU official told the FT that even an impressive "white rabbit out of a hat" would not be enough without political will.
According to Kyiv, Ukraine is short €23 billion for defense this year. This week an IMF mission left Kyiv without reaching agreement on disbursing the next tranches of loans from the fund and the EU worth about €4.5 billion. The European Union this year approved providing Ukraine with €90 billion over two years from the common budget.