The European Commission currently does not consider finding new ways to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit to be a top priority. In Brussels, the focus is first on determining Ukraine’s actual financial needs.
This was stated at a European Commission briefing in response to journalists’ request to confirm a Financial Times report that the Commission has resumed work on finding new options for using frozen Russian assets.
According to the publication, the European Commission is looking for a mechanism that would be more acceptable, in particular, to Belgium. The bulk of the Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe are held in that country at the Euroclear depository.
However, the European Commission’s spokesperson for economic affairs, Balazs Ujvari, did not confirm that the Commission is working on a new mechanism for using Russian assets.
"First we need to determine the needs before we can potentially discuss ways of meeting them. That is the situation at the moment," Ujvari said.
He also confirmed that the European Commission has received a letter from more than 100 Members of the European Parliament urging it to consider new possibilities for using Russian assets. According to the spokesperson, the Commission is currently reviewing it.
The European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, noted that after analysing the proposals it will be decided whether the time has come for further action and what form it could take.
The European Commission, together with the Ukrainian authorities and the International Monetary Fund, is clarifying Ukraine’s possible additional financing shortfall.
According to Ujvari, this week European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis held talks with Ukraine’s Prime Minister and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the state of Ukraine’s public finances.
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"Additional work is needed, including at the technical level, to better understand how the fiscal situation in Ukraine is developing and whether a potential financing gap is emerging," a European Commission representative said.
On 24 August, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that this year’s budget deficit amounts to $27bn. Among the possible ways to cover it, he cited using frozen Russian assets or receiving, as early as 2026, part of the funds from an EU loan planned for 2027.
At the same time, on 11 September Ujvari said that, to his knowledge, no official request from Ukraine to the European Commission to bring these funds forward had yet been received.
The EU loan of €90bn is рассчитаний for 2026–2027. €45bn is предусмотрено for each of the two years.