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Luxembourg – Slovenia, according to Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič, like most other member states, supports the use of frozen Russian assets to finance further support for Ukraine. However, it will be necessary to address a “series of complex legal questions” before that, Boštjančič said on the sidelines of the EU finance ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.
“We support countries using these funds, but on the other hand, we all point out the legal aspect of this,” he said. “It involves a series of very complex legal questions that need to be answered before this step is taken,” Boštjančič emphasized regarding the new loan to Ukraine, for which frozen Russian assets would be used for financing.
According to sources in Brussels, member states will have to guarantee the loan, with the Slovenian minister highlighting the question of how these guarantees will be treated in the states’ budgets. Slovenia, like other member states, does not agree that the guarantees should be treated as additional borrowing, he said.
European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis stated after the meeting that providing guarantees for the loan will likely not automatically count towards the public finance deficit or the debt of states if the Russian assets remain frozen until Moscow pays reparations to Ukraine. He emphasized, however, that this will need to be clarified by the European statistical office Eurostat, which is responsible for this.
The finance ministers of EU member states discussed the new loan for Ukraine after leaders of the member states debated it at an informal meeting in Copenhagen last week. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed confidence at that time that a solution would be found that would be supported by all 27 countries.
Heads of government and state members will discuss this again at the regular October meeting of the European Council in Brussels in two weeks. (October 10)