The European Parliament has approved a €35 billion loan to Ukraine at the expense of profits from Russia's frozen assets. This is stated on the website of the European Parliament.
The loan was supported by 518 MEPs. 56 were against, and 61 abstained.
The next step in the approval process is a vote by the Council of the European Union next week, said MP Yevheniya Kravchuk.
The funds should be disbursed by the end of next year.
"This is an important contribution of the EU within the $50 billion G7 loan using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets, which will help cover Ukraine's urgent financial needs," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal commented.
The €35bn is part of a plan agreed by the G7 countries to provide Ukraine with a €50bn loan using the excess profits from frozen Russian money. Yesterday, the United Kingdom determined its share of this 50 billion - it will lend Ukraine $3 billion.
In October, the proposal to provide Ukraine with a €35bn loan was supported by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament's Committee on Trade. According to the original plan, Ukraine was to receive these funds by the end of the year, and they were to come not from the confiscation of Russian assets themselves, but from the profits that accumulate over time.
Hungary was against providing Ukraine with these funds.
Ukraine has asked its allies to transfer Russia's frozen funds to it, but so far only the transfer of profits from these funds has been agreed upon. This refers to the profits accumulated after 15 February 2024, when the EU countries agreed to use these funds for Ukraine's needs. The €5 billion accumulated before this agreement will not be transferred.
In early 2024, the EU agreed to transfer to Ukraine the profits from these frozen assets, but not the assets themselves. And the idea of the G7, which includes countries outside the bloc, is to provide Ukraine with more and faster support to finance its defence needs.