EU states lift hurdle on Russian assets

EU states Thursday lifted a key hurdle to using Russian assets for a mammoth loan to Ukraine by agreeing on a way to keep the funds frozen as long as required without need for renewal every six months, the bloc's Danish presidency said.

The European Commission is pushing to tap some 200 billion euros ($232 billion) of Russian central bank assets immobilised in the bloc after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to provide Kyiv with much-needed funding beyond the end of this year.

The loan plan faces strong resistance from Belgium, where the bulk of funds are held, but work is nevertheless moving ahead on the scheme -- with the EU desperate to strike a deal at a summit next week.

The sanctions freezing the Russian funds currently require unanimous renewal twice a year, leaving them vulnerable to a veto from Hungary, the EU country closest to Russia. Under the proposal agreed Thursday by a "large majority" of ambassadors from the EU's 27 nations, the freeze would remain in place "until the end of Russian aggression", an EU diplomat said.