Hungary backed a €35-billion EU loan package for Ukraine secured by interest accrued on frozen assets of the Russian central bank, according to bne IntelliNews.
However, Hungary and Slovakia continue to block the freezing of Russian assets in Europe for 36 months, which likely excludes US participation in the G7 initiative.
After a meeting of EU finance ministers earlier this week, Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga stated that the extension of Russian sanctions should be postponed until after the US elections in November.
Varga said that the relevant legislation was expected to be adopted in October following negotiations between Coreper (permanent representatives of EU member states) and the European Parliament.
The package worth up to €35 billion, to be financed from the EU’s general budget, is the bloc’s share of a $50 billion defence loan for Ukraine announced by the G7 in June. It was adopted by a majority vote, with Malta abstaining.
The US also wanted to participate in the loan scheme if Russian assets were frozen for 36 months. However, this cannot be guaranteed by the EU due to Budapest’s resistance. Hungary blocked the extension of the agreement for more than six months, arguing that it wanted to wait until after the US presidential election in November.
Some €210 billion of Russian assets have been frozen in EU banks, giving an estimated annual return of €2.5-3 billion.
