STRASBOURG, France: The European Parliament on Tuesday voted to hand war-torn Ukraine a loan of up to $38 billion (35 billion euros) backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.
Kyiv is desperate for funds as it seeks to prop up its economy, equip its military and keep its electricity grid functioning this winter after intense bombardments by Moscow’s forces.
The European Union loan — which was approved by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers — is part of a bigger $50 billion initiative agreed by G7 powers in June.
The EU is the first of the G7 powers to announce how much it is putting forward as its share of the plan and is still waiting for the United States and others to do their part.
EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders said other G7 countries are expected to unveil their contributions at a Washington meeting on Friday.
EU officials say the size of the bloc’s loan was up to 35 billion euros, but could decrease depending on how much other countries put forward.
The EU has frozen roughly $235 billion of Russian central bank funds since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the vast bulk of immobilized Russian assets worldwide.
About 90 percent of the funds in the EU are held by international deposit organization Euroclear, based in Belgium.
The G7 plan seeks to leverage interest earned on the assets to get more funds to Ukraine and will replace an existing EU scheme that funneled $1.7 billion to Kyiv in July.
There has been a delay in implementing the G7 loan as the United States had sought guarantees from the EU that the Russian assets would remain frozen.
Currently, EU members have to agree every six months to extend the asset freeze.
Hungary rejected a proposal to extend that period to 36 months, arguing it wants to wait until after the US presidential election in November.
The latest EU loan comes on top of roughly 120 billion euros of support that officials say the EU and its member states have provided to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion.
EU lawmakers approve new $38 billion loan for Ukraine
https://arab.news/mq9f3
EU lawmakers approve new $38 billion loan for Ukraine
- Kyiv is desperate for funds as it seeks to prop up its economy, equip its military and keep its electricity grid functioning this winter
- The EU loan is part of a bigger $50 billion initiative agreed by G7 powers in June
French foreign minister says US military operations in Caribbean violate international law
- US officials said on Tuesday the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, had moved into the region, adding to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the Caribbean
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Canada: France is worried about US military operations in the Caribbean because they violate international law, the country’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.
The US military has carried out at least 19 strikes so far against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coasts of Latin America, killing at least 76 people.
“We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside,” Barrot said on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ summit in Canada.
“They could therefore be affected by the instability caused by any escalation, which we obviously want to avoid.”
US officials said on Tuesday the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, had moved into the region, adding to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the Caribbean.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US buildup is designed to drive him from power.
