Iryna Pohorila06:38, 17.12.25

The summit of European Union leaders will test whether it can maintain unity or whether Trump has the power to split it and disrupt Ukraine’s funding.

European leaders are under enormous and unprecedented pressure from the US ahead of a key summit in Brussels, where the fate of a ” reparations loan ” for Ukraine will be decided.

According to Politico , the dispute over frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine has exposed a deep divide in Europe over how to deal with the new world order and unprecedented pressure from the United States.

“They want to weaken us,” a senior EU official familiar with the situation told the publication.

The publication noted that the European Council must do two things this week. First, tangible results are needed on the issue of financing Ukraine. However, European leaders must also defend the EU, whose policy on this issue the White House is trying with all its might to interfere.

The EU will be “seriously undermined for years to come” if it cannot reach an agreement on financing Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said:

Pressure from the US

Officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have been pressuring European governments to reject a plan to use 210 billion euros in Russian assets to finance Ukraine, four EU officials involved in the discussions told the publication.Read also:

“When EU leaders met in Brussels in October, they failed to reach an agreement on the frozen funds because Belgium opposed it. Two months later, it became clear that the EU’s problem was not really Belgium, but Trump,” the publication wrote.

Questions in Belgium

Since then, the European Commission and the most influential capitals have begged Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, whose support is crucial because his country holds most of the frozen Russian assets, to agree to a “reparations loan” for Ukraine.

The newspaper noted that negotiations have intensified over the past week as the EU sought to provide Belgium with guarantees. But the chances of a deal have worsened, not improved, said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“I wanted to cry,” he said of the mood at a meeting in Brussels of EU ministers preparing for the summit.

Ukraine needs money

The publication emphasized that Ukraine desperately needs money, as it will face a budget deficit of 71.7 billion euros in 2026.

“If funding does not begin by April, government spending will have to be cut, which could undermine morale and the country’s ability to continue defending itself,” the publication speculates.

How the White House is secretly plotting against funding for Ukraine

An American influence campaign, in which Trump officials bypassed Brussels and negotiated with central capitals, led to Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic joining the group of countries opposed to funding Ukraine.

Failure would be catastrophic for the EU’s standing in the world, European officials said, especially given that the Trump administration, in its National Security Strategy, has pledged support for Eurosceptic forces, as well as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who has openly questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet republics.

What do people in Europe think?

“The US is clearly no longer the leader of the free world,” said Manfred Weber, leader of the center-right European People’s Party, the EU’s largest political family.

The Trump administration is “distancing itself from us,” he added.

Consequences for Ukraine

A devastated Ukraine will find itself in a weaker position in the negotiations, undermining its chances of achieving a lasting peace.

“I don’t even have the right word,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told the publication, answering a question about what would happen if the EU could not reach a loan agreement.

She added that Kyiv needs to know “that Europe supports Ukraine no matter what. That they don’t have to agree to a bad deal.”

What does the White House want?

According to a leaked draft of the “peace plan” drawn up by the White House and the Kremlin, Washington wants to use part of the frozen Russian money to finance Ukraine. While the “reparations loan” will allow Kiev to decide where to direct the money. And France is generally pushing to arm Europe with Russian money.

Trump is also pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand over large swaths of heavily fortified and strategically important territory in Donbas to Russia – land that the Kremlin does not control.

Naturally, the White House rejected Brussels’ accusations of interference.

“The only goal of the United States is to establish peace… Both the Ukrainians and the Russians have clearly stated their positions on frozen assets, and our only task is to facilitate a dialogue that can ultimately lead to an agreement,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly commented on the situation.

What choice in the EU

EU officials and leaders have increasingly raised the issue of a “nuclear option”: pushing through a “reparations loan” by a qualified majority vote — in other words, ignoring objections from some countries and moving forward anyway. But some officials have said that would tear apart the already fractured bloc and plunge it into a real crisis.

Another alternative is simply for some countries to provide limited bilateral loans.

“It is important that Belgium participates in the agreement, but we will see,” Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told the publication. “If this [qualified majority voting] is the only [option], why not?” she said.

Reparation loan for Ukraine: what is known

The EU has been trying for a long time to agree on a loan for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. Belgium, which holds a huge amount of Russian money, is strongly opposed. The Belgian authorities are afraid of the Kremlin and worry that they will have to answer for giving these assets to Ukraine.

Experts believe that providing a reparations loan to Ukraine is quite likely. According to media reports, the European Commission will put pressure on national governments to convince them to agree to financing Ukraine at Russia’s expense so that they do not have to do it themselves.

(c)UNIAN 2025