09:26 21-12-2025

Meloni and Macron Block EU Plan to Use Russian Assets

Italy and France opposed using frozen Russian assets for a Ukraine loan, shifting EU talks and forcing Brussels to approve funding from its own budget.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron played a significant role in blocking a plan to use frozen Russian assets to back a loan for Ukraine, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, Macron and Meloni expressed concerns over the prospect that their national parliaments would have to approve financial guarantees demanded by Belgium in order to share the risks of a potential loan repayment. The report notes that their opposition shifted the overall mood of the negotiations.

One EU diplomat described Meloni’s role as decisive, adding that Macron largely remained silent during the discussions.

An EU summit concluded in Brussels late Friday night, after which member states decided to temporarily abandon plans to seize frozen Russian assets and instead approve a €90 billion loan to Ukraine from the EU budget. It was also reported that Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are not participating in securing the EU loan for Kyiv.